The Kiss
by Kismet's Sorrow
Summary: Zuko and Katara. T rating might be a little harsh just in case . Set a few years or so after the war. Zuko is Fire lord. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

"This is really weird, Katara" Zuko's first words to her upon her arrival could not have mirrored her own feelings any better.

"My Lord" Katara replied formally, bowing.

"You really don't have to-"

"Zuko, I really have to," she knew she was being rude to her old friend and ally, if not by court standards, than by their own. She wasn't ready to think of him as her betrothed, and stubbornly stuck to formal, cold, impersonal titles as her one way to distance herself from him.

Zuko took a deep breath and bowed formally, then looked away; clearing his throat he said "I thought you might prefer a more private setting for your arrival. It was announced that your ship would be arriving two days from now, officially speaking you arrived early and therefore could not be properly greeted by your new people."

Katara's shoulders drooped. Zuko was being too kind to her, it was hard to distance herself from that kindness. "Thank you my Lord," she felt even guiltier, returning his consideration with coldness.

Zuko took another deep breath, and offered Katara his arm, "We will travel by palanquin to the palace." He turned slightly to look at a proud looking man, perhaps in his sixties, yet still stiff in the spine, "Have the Lady Katara's things brought to the palace immediately."

Katara took the offered arm and shuddered slightly. Zuko stiffened, but said nothing, leading her toward one of two palanquins, manned by strong looking fire nation men. Each step Katara took seemed to increase her dread. Every inch closer the palanquins got seemed an inch closer to her doom. Her marriage to Zuko was unwanted, yet necessary. In the years since the war, her renown throughout the four kingdoms had increased; the world loved and respected her. Zuko on the other hand had no such luck with the world. Katara knew it was unfair, so far Zuko had been a truly great Fire Lord, but after so many years of war the world simply could not get over its fear of the fire nation. Katara could no longer count on only her ten fingers all of the supposedly secret societies she'd heard of, all of which had plots to overthrow the Fire Lord and destroy the fire Nation. She didn't want to think about all the societies that were actually good at keeping themselves a secret. Hopefully, her marriage to Zuko would increase the world's trust in the Fire Nation, and prevent another war.

When she finally reached her palanquin, Zuko helped her inside. He reached for the curtain, to draw it closed for her, and she stayed his hand with her own. She took a shaky breath, looking away, and whispered softly, "I'm sorry."

Zuko was silent for a moment, then replied just as softly, "I'm sorry too," and closed the curtain.

After a brief moment, the palanquin was jerked upward, and Katara was jarred with every step her bearers took. It was uncomfortable, but the cushions she was sitting on took some of the jostling for her. After a while she could feel a rhythm in the movement. The light swaying, the one inch or so difference in the left front bearer's shoulder height, the limp someone seemed to have. She was comforted by the imperfect rhythm, although she suspected that palanquin bearers were supposed to be somewhat better at their job than they seemed to her now.

Abruptly the palanquin stopped, and Zuko was there to escort her through the palace. "Katara," he offered her his arm again, which she used to help herself out of her transport.

"Thank you, my Lord," Katara hesitated, "am I to be presented to the court tonight?"

"No, that can be postponed until two days from now, the day everyone expected it to be in the first place." Zuko led Katara up a short flight of stairs and through an enormous gate, "This is the inner palace, this courtyard and that dining hall," Zuko pointed off to the left, "are the only public areas, nobles rarely stray anywhere else in the palace. You needn't worry about bumping into anyone other than family, servants, and guards anywhere else within the inner palace."

"I see," Katara was relieved, and yet terrified. She wouldn't have to deal with noble strangers everywhere she went, but Zuko had no family residing in his palace. She would be very alone with him.

Zuko silently led her though the courtyard. The silence grew awkward as he lead her through a long hallway, and steadily worked its way up to unbearable through a set of double doors. Katara desperately wanted to say something, but what? Should she tell him she hated the thought of marrying him? Or maybe she could tell him she refused to marry him. While she was at it, why not tell him she could never love him, or that she liked Haru? She berated herself inwardly for refusing Haru when he had asked to court her, merely three months ago. Then she berated herself for berating herself, knowing that while she did like Haru, it didn't feel like it would have worked out. Her relationships tended not to work out, Aang for instance, he hadn't worked out. Did she bring it on herself?

"This is your room, Katara," Zuko stopped outside a red door at the end of a hallway. There was an ornate gold dragon around the frame, and a guard stood at attention to the left.

Katara let go of Zuko's arm, "Thank you, my Lord."

"When you are ready, dinner will be waiting for you in the Jade Room. He can take you." Zuko nodded in the guard's direction. "I hope you will find happiness here, Katara, I really do," Zuko turned and walked quickly back the way he had come.

Katara watched him go, even after he had turned a corner she watched the last place his boots had been on the lush carpet, her mind blank. Finally, after a long moment, she turned and entered her new room. She couldn't keep in a gasp. Great care had been taken to insure her chambers would be pleasing to her. Carpets and tapestries were obviously Water Tribe and her bed had soft furs fit for a Water Tribe princess, over the thinner, more practical Fire Nation sheets, which had been dyed a beautiful cerulean. Two blue doors, each with a small decorative tapestry, were positioned to her right and left, in the middle of their own walls. Katara stopped staring at her quarters long enough to take a peek through the leftmost door. It was the bathing room, inside two attendants awaited her. They both bowed.

"Lady Katara, we are here to serve you," the eldest one said.

Katara almost opened her mouth to argue about that, having served herself just fine her whole life, but thought better of it when she remembered that she had no real experience with Fire Nation dress and face paint. She expected she would need the attendants greatly once she was brought into the public eye. "Thank you, I appreciate your attendance to me, but I bathe alone," she decided to compromise, some independence, some dependence. "However, I would need help with Fire Nation costume, and until I have mastered the art of putting on my own clothing," Katara grinned wryly, "I would gladly accept your help in that respect."

"Yes Princess," they bowed again, "would you like us to draw up your bath water?"

"Please do," a bath sounded heavenly, "I'll be right back."

Katara exited the bathing room, and went to inspect the other door. She expected perhaps a closet, and instead opened the door to a small courtyard. She strongly suspected the entire thing had been built just for her; the Fire Nation simply didn't share architectural and decorative tastes with the Water Tribes. The center of the courtyard held a large pool, the center of which held a large fountain. It was breathtaking. A spiraling Dragon sprayed a fine mist of water into the air through its mouth, and each of its many claws overflowed with even more water, making calming creek noises when it hit the pool. The walls had soft arches, leading off to other palace regions, and were snowy white. The stone beneath her feet was as white as the walls, and laid carefully with blue tile in large swirling patterns. Katara closed her eyes for a moment, ashamed beyond words that she could treat Zuko so coldly while he was obviously doing everything he could to please her. When she opened them again, the courtyard was abruptly too much for her. It was too beautiful, too kind. She could feel tears running down her cheeks as she turned back to the bedchamber. She was such a jerk.

Katara stopped in the middle of her new room, undecided. She desperately wanted to just have a good cathartic cry on her beautiful new bed, and she also wanted to hurry and take her bath, so that she wouldn't keep Zuko waiting in the Jade Room. She took a deep, unsteady breath, then another, and waterbended her tears away, resolved to keep as strong a front as she could. A few more deep breaths and she pushed open her bathing room door. The bath tub was full of steaming water, and the attendants were nowhere to be seen. A small basket of soaps and shampoos sat on a small stool next to the water, and fluffy blue towels hung on a tapestry pole nearby. The tub was enormous, and set in the floor waist deep. Katara wasn't sure how it had been filled so quickly, but some quick exploring showed her two holes in the sides of the tub. Each had a lockable covering, but neither was closed. The Fire Nation seemed to have invented an elaborate piping system for itself. It would be pointless to have such a system in the Water Tribes, where the pipes would burst from cold, but similar ice structures did exist.

Katara tried to enjoy a nice soak while still hurrying to wash herself. She alternated between scrubbing herself with soap and relaxing, shampooing her hair and relaxing. Soon she was clean, and with a sigh climbed out of the bath. The towels looked comfortable and warm, but Katara just waterbended any droplets from herself, and put on a shift she found nearby.

Katara was glancing around for a brush then a knock came from the door, "Lady Katara, are you done with your bath?"

"Yes, thank you, you may enter," Katara recognized the voice of the elder attendant. The door opened, "If you don't mind, what are your names?" Katara asked, deciding not to call them merely elder and younger.

"I am Jun, and this is Lin, Lady Katara," The elder attendant replied, and both bowed.

They made quick work of Katara's hair and attire, and lined her eyes with kohl. The clothes were in the style of the Fire Nation, but in soft blue tones. The upper half of her hair was done up in a top knot, with the lower half hanging free, exactly as it had been when she had stayed at the former Fire Lord's summer house, preparing with Aang and everyone else to defeat Ozai.

She and Zuko had fought Azula together, she remembered. They were close friends then, and had stayed moderately close since then, but now she could feel herself shying away from that closeness. She truly did not want to marry him.

Katara took a deep breath, thanked Jun and Lin for their help, and exited the bathing room. She picked her necklace up off of the bed, where she had left it when she went to bathe, and secured it around her neck. She paused only briefly by her door, then exited her room.

"Katara," Zuko bowed.

Katara had been expecting to be escorted to the Jade Room by the guard, and jumped at seeing Zuko. "Zuko? I thought that you would be-"

"I decided to escort you myself," he watched her carefully.

Katara quickly covered her surprise and recovered her distance, "of course, My Lord."

Zuko's eyes seemed to droop at the words, and his already impeccable posture grew even stiffer. "Your arm, my Lady"

Katara gave him her arm and they walked down the hallway together. Inwardly, Katara was a mess. She was so horrible to Zuko. This was worse than the hate she felt for him so long ago, because she didn't hate him and yet managed to hurt him on purpose anyway. She knew that her life as Zuko's bride wouldn't be horrible if she just let herself accept it, and yet she couldn't. She wanted desperately to turn to him, give him the biggest hug she could and tell him she didn't hate him, and she also wanted to tear her arm from his light grasp and run away. None of this showed on her face.

"Katara, here," Zuko pushed open a set of deep green doors and waited for her to enter.

Katara nodded, walking into one of the most beautiful rooms she had ever seen. The walls were inlaid with jade patterns, and if she wasn't mistaken, the entire floor was jade tile. The low table in the center was simple wood, but stained a rich red velvet, and surrounded by cushions.

The door closed ominously behind her and Katara spun, "It's just us?"

"Yes, unless there is someone you can think of who should be here?" Zuko asked, a little sarcastically.

"No," Katara turned away; there was no one other than Zuko in the palace. Iroh lived in Ba Sing Se, Mai moved to Ember Island, Ty Lee lived in Kyoshi, and no one had traveled with Katara to see Zuko.

Zuko sighed and sat heavily on some cushions, "I'm sorry, Katara. I'll send for anyone you wish to see. I miss them too you know."

"I know, Zuko," Katara took a deep breath, "I need to apologize for-"

"No, don't. I know you don't want this,_ I _need to apologize. I was only thinking of myself when I asked you to take on the role of Fire Lady. It was wrong of me," Zuko put his head in his hands, "deeply wrong."

"Zuko, I'm doing this of my own free will," Katara forced out.

"No, you're not, and the people will notice. It won't help anybody if there is a war to rescue you from me." Zuko grimaced. "It wouldn't just be a revenge war, a war of fear, it would be a rescue mission, Katara, and it would be justified."

"Then how else can I prevent what's coming? No one listens when I endorse you! It's time for action, and if this is what it takes to prevent the next war, to prevent my family from being torn apart again, than this is what I will do," Katara crossed her arms.

Zuko took a long breath, "I would not sacrifice your happiness for my country, you're my friend, Katara and if I'm going to lose you over this then our betrothal is broken, as of now."

"No!" Katara shouted at him, "You would bring about a war anyway, breaking the vows. What will everyone think? They will see me leaving you as soon as I land, they won't know what happened and it will only add to their hate."

Just then a small door in the far corner of the room opened and three servants entered, bearing dishes and tea. Zuko and Katara watched them silently as they arranged the table and left. Only one stayed, bowing, "I will pour the tea, Fire Lord."

"Not today, Lee," Zuko said quietly, "We will pour our own tea, you are dismissed."

Katara waited until Lee had left, then sat down across from Zuko, "I will not break my vows."

Zuko was silent for a long moment, then picked up his chopsticks, "Very well, let us discuss this after the meal, I'm sure you're hungry."

Katara was reluctant to let the conversation go, it was too important, but her stomach grumbled at just the right moment, deciding things for her. The Fire Nation had some of the world's best hot dishes; Katara's mood couldn't spoil her enjoyment of them entirely. The tea was delicious, and reminded her of Iroh, and when the meal was over, the servants brought in ice cream.

"I didn't know the Fire Nation had ice cream," Katara mused.

"We don't, a chef from the Northern Water Tribe was hired for your arrival," Zuko smiled lightly. "There was some experimentation with flavor a few weeks ago, and one of our fire Nation chefs decided he liked fire flake flavor."

Katara dropped the bite she was about to eat, "What?"

Zuko chuckled, "It wasn't bad, although I had to put the kibosh to the experiments when someone started using garlic."

Katara looked at her dish in horror, "what flavor is this, exactly?"

"Unfortunately, it's hard to tell until you've tried it, but I suspect its plain vanilla," Zuko tried sniffing his, and then took a small bite "yep, vanilla."

Katara looked suspiciously at her ice cream, and then took a taste. Her eyes lit up, "it's actually good."

Zuko smiled again, then sobered, "I've missed you, Katara."

"I've missed you too, Zuko." Katara looked down, "I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you, it was wrong."

"It's fine," Zuko forgave her, "the wedding had me a little on edge too. But you don't have to worry about that Katara; I meant it when I said we could break it off."

"And I meant it when I said I wouldn't" Katara glared at him, "are you actually going to make me beg to marry you?"

"I had Jun watch you for me. Crying in your room, Katara? It that what our marriage would be? Am I truly that revolting?" Zuko stood angrily, unconsciously touching his scar.

"It's not your stupid scar I care about, Zuko!" Katara stood as well, "it's-" she started, then stopped herself. What was it she cared about? Her freedom? Well, yes, but that wasn't all of it, why did she find a marriage to him so detestable? Not everyone married for love, sure she had expected to marry for love someday, but she certainly didn't hate Zuko.

"What then, Katara, what is it about me, about _us_, that you can't deal with?" The candles seemed to glow brighter as Zuko began to pace.

"I-" she stuttered.

"You what? _What_?" Zuko slammed his fist against the wall.

"I don't know! OK? I just don't know!" Katara ran through the big green doors, and kept running, unsure of where she was going, but determined to leave the site of her discomfort. Why was the thought of marrying him so hard for her to take? He had every right to be angry with her, she couldn't even give him a reason for her behavior.

Katara's vision was blurring from tears and she violently bended the water away. "Ungh," she winced when she pulled too much water. She leaned briefly against the nearest wall to rehydrate her eyes and then started off at a slightly slower pace. Her brief stop had brought back some of her sanity, and she realized she was about to become hopelessly lost and needed to go back. She could hear Zuko through the walls, calling her name, and looked over her shoulder. Two hallways intersected a ways behind her, had she gone straight, left, or right? She cursed her idiocy, and then took a breath. She didn't want to face Zuko anyway, and she could find her room eventually. Katara straightened her back and walked forward.

"Right, right, left, straight, right," Katara repeated to herself, in case she needed to find the way back to the hallway where she had hurt her eyes. "Another right," she mumbled, entering a courtyard. Had she been here before? Katara didn't recognize it, not that that meant much. She ran across the granite tile, and into another hallway.

"Katara!" she turned at the sound of Zuko's voice, he was halfway through the courtyard.

Katara hesitated, and then ran down the hallway, making a left turn, and another, determined to lose him. She could face him tomorrow; tonight she had every intention of being alone. Before long she found another courtyard, and curled up in a dark corner. Once a guard came through, she could ask him to take her to her room. He'd surely tell Zuko she was safe, and everything would be fine.

It didn't take long for a pair of guards to turn up, but Katara ignored them. They didn't appear to see her, although one looked right into her corner, and walked right on through. She wasn't ready yet, she had to think. What about Zuko was so repulsive? His temper perhaps, but while his anger tended to bring hers to the surface it had never been something she couldn't stand. His scar was truly frightening, and hard for him to hide, but that wasn't the problem either. His past with her wasn't exactly perfect, but he had proven again and again that he was sorry and she couldn't hold it against him. What then? She buried her head in her knees, sighing. She knew what was wrong with the others. Aang was like a little brother to her, and while he could pull off wisdom, he was still immature. Haru would have been committed and steady, she would have been happy with him, but she just didn't find him attractive. Did she find Zuko attractive? A little, more than Haru or Aang anyway, but that didn't seem to help. He was kind and considerate and he wouldn't force her into anything, she knew that. He would probably make a wonderful husband if she'd just let him. But she wouldn't let him. Was this all her? Was _she_ the one with the problem? She sighed again, and felt a hand on her back.

"Katara," Zuko said quietly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Katara froze, then mumbled into her knees, "how did you find me?"

Zuko slid down next to her, "The guards who came through, they saw you."

"Everyone seems to watch me for you," Katara shot out, then regretted it.

Zuko was silent for a long time, then sighed, "Well, I am the Fire Lord. I just wanted to keep an eye on you, at least for a while."

"Why?" Katara asked her knees.

"Because I want you to be happy, and to find your way around the palace with ease, and to think well of me. I guess I haven't been doing such a good job of that."

Katara didn't reply. They both sat in silence for a long while, until she said, "it's my fault."

"What is?" Zuko asked.

"Everything."

"Don't be ridiculous, Katara, I don't know what you're blaming yourself for, but I doubt it's your fault." Zuko defended her.

"Zuko, I'm the reason this marriage isn't working, there's nothing wrong with you and I don't know what's wrong with me. I could be happy with you, I know it, but I'm not and I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Nothing, Katara," Zuko's voice picked up a little in anger, "It's me, I'll-"

"Zuko, it's not you. I can't find one single solitary flaw with you, no matter how hard I look," Katara's eyes watered a little, but her head was still hidden by her knees. "You've been nothing but kind to me. You found a water tribe chef for me, my room was obviously carefully set up, and did that courtyard nearby even exist before I came along? You would be a perfect husband to me, if I wasn't being too stupid to let you."

Zuko was silent again, then he sighed, "It's no one's fault Katara, it just wasn't meant to be. Stay in the palace as long as you like, but we won't be getting married."

Katara looked up, "Don't say that to me, Zuko, I don't want to-"

"Katara, it's noble of you to want to give yourself up to prevent the next war, but it's cruel of me to expect you to do so. I thought that with time we might grow to love each other, but now I think I may have been mistaken." Zuko looked her in the eyes as he said it.

"Zuko, if you think you could ever love me, then do not cancel this wedding," Katara looked him in the eyes as well. "You are not a cruel man, and I will not back down."

Zuko looked away, "Katara, if you were carrying an important document to your Chief, one that would influence the world for the better if he got it soon enough, and a child stood in your way, could you push him to the ground to get by him?"

"What?" Katara was confused.

"Could you?"

"Of course not, that would be horrible. The world would hardly be a better place if I trampled over a child to get it that way," Katara replied.

"Well, you are that child Katara, and I'm pushing aside your happiness in an attempt to better the world. It's wrong, and I don't want you to let me do that. Let me help you back up again before I go on my way."

"I'm hardly a child, Zuko."

"That's really not the point, Katara. In the past I probably would have stepped on anyone to get to where I felt I needed to be, but now? I've changed too much, and you're more important to me than a child by the road anyway."

Katara thought for a moment, "Zuko, kiss me."

"What?" Zuko stood abruptly, "did I hear you right?"

"I want you to kiss me, and after that, I want you to take me to my room, say goodnight, and meet me in the morning for breakfast."

"Why?" Zuko backed up a step when Katara stood.

"Because we are going to be married, and someday we are going to fall in love, and until then you are going to court me, and I am going to court you."

"No," Zuko stated firmly.

"Because you still don't intend to marry me?" Katara asked.

"No, it's because you don't love me," Zuko replied. "Maybe someday you will, and at that time you may have your kiss. As long as you insist on letting yourself be thrown into the dirt I will not stop you, but neither will I coerce you. The day you convince me you are in love with me will be our wedding day. It's this way to your room," Zuko turned and began walking in the direction Katara had entered the courtyard.

Katara sighed, it was going to be a long betrothal, and followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good morning, Katara," Zuko stood and bowed as she entered the Sunrise Courtyard.

"Good morning, Zuko," Katara bowed as well, pleased to find that all her unease with him had disappeared. Just saying good morning felt right somehow, instead of terribly wrong, as it would have only yesterday.

"I hope your first night in the palace was comfortable?" Zuko sat down at a low table.

"Yes, actually," Katara said, joining him at the table. Breakfast had already been laid out, and consisted mostly of a suspiciously red omelet. "Does the Fire Nation favor spicy foods in the morning?"

"It'll wake you up," Zuko smiled a little, "but yours is mild, and if it's still too much there is sweet cream to take the bite off," he pointed to a miniature pitcher.

Katara cautiously took a bite of an omelet. Zuko told the truth, the spices were very mild. She ate a few bites before asking, "So, what are we doing today?"

"We?" Zuko raised an eyebrow, and bit into a pepper.

"That's right, _we_," Katara mirrored his look, then grimaced at the thought of biting into something so spicy.

"Well, I can come along if you'd like, but _you_ are being fitted for a suitable court robe," Zuko chuckled. "Since there is time, you might as well look like a proper Fire Lady for the ceremony."

"I think I can get properly fitted without you," Katara said, embarrassed, "what ceremony?"

"Oh, you won't have to do anything but stand there. Traditionally, whoever is brought into the Royal Family, or one of the wealthier families, has someone to speak for them. The High Priest of the Fire Temple will do you that honor."

"What is the ceremony about? Just being betrothed?" it seemed like a little too much pomp to Katara, but at least Zuko wasn't fighting to break it off.

"Sort of." Zuko said, "Your representative goes over your exploits, what you will bring to the family, and other such things. The idea is to show the world that you are the most qualified for gaining royal status, although it doesn't really matter since the Fire Lord can marry whomever he pleases anyway."

"Well, I've got exploits," Katara grinned. Between traveling with the Avatar and her incredible healing abilities, her exploits were getting up there in number. But what was she expected to bring? Money? She hadn't seen herself as bringing something to Zuko so much as being sacrificed to him, although now she was more at ease. Why was she more at ease? Perhaps because she had made up her mind? No, that couldn't be it; she had made up her mind to marry him long before she felt comfortable with it. She _still_ wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of the marriage, but somehow she was happier. Katara frowned lightly, trying to remember precisely when she had started to feel better. Katara's frown deepened, when she had argued with Zuko? They had been apologizing to each other, and then they had argued about whether or not to break the betrothal. She had been in favor of their marriage. Or maybe it was the ice cream?

"What are you thinking about, Katara?" Zuko's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," Katara waved him off, thinking quickly, "just wondering what the betrothal ceremonies for the other Fire Ladies were like."

"I've never been to one," Zuko shrugged, "My mother was the last Fire Lady to have one."

Katara could have kicked herself. Zuko had spent the first year of his rule looking for his mother, only to find her grave. "I'm sorry, Zuko," she touched his hand lightly, and then pulled back.

"It's fine, Katara, I'm over it," Zuko said lightly, but his eyes seemed tight.

Katara didn't push him. She knew he was still sad that he hadn't gotten a chance to see his mother, but he would have to be the one to bring it up if he wanted to talk to her about it. She didn't intend to prod the subject of dead parents.

"So," Katara changed the subject, "What will you be doing today?"

"I have a meeting with the ministers of war about strengthening our defenses in the capital," Zuko replied.

"Do you think our betrothal will stir up trouble?" Katara asked. She hadn't given it much thought before.

"Only for you," Zuko gave her an intense look, "Your popularity will plummet, and the radicals will never forgive you. Can you really deal with that?"

"You said you wouldn't try to change my mind," Katara glared at him, "so quit it with the gloom and doom, I know what I'm doing."

"I'm not trying to change your mind, I'm just telling you the truth," Zuko glared right back.

"Yea, the hard truths. You know what else will happen when we announce our betrothal? Your popularity will go up. Seeing that you intend to marry a water bender, especially since it's _me_, will foster the idea that you accept that the other Nations have a right to exist." Katara half shouted at him. "We're doing a lot of good here, and I wish you could see it," she tacked on quietly.

"Katara, I can see the good, but I can see you too." Zuko's eyes strayed to the left, "But never mind, Jun will take you to the seamstress now."

Katara glanced behind her and Jun bowed, "My Lady."

Katara stood to follow her, then stopped and turned, "you will keep your promise, right?"

"I never promised anything," Zuko's posture screamed defiance.

"The King's very breath is a promise, Zuko," Katara bowed angrily and quickly followed Jun out before he could reply.

Jun lead Katara through several hallways and then straight out the front gates, where a palanquin and a number of guards were waiting. Katara felt ridiculous riding when everyone else was walking, but put up little resistance and settled into her palanquin with only a few grumbles. She had assumed that the palace had its own seamstress, someone had to keep Zuko and his minions clothed, but the ride into town seemed to prove otherwise.

Zuko was an annoying man. Once he got an idea into his head, he kept at it with the tenacity of a sheershoe. He always managed to get under her skin, although to be fair he always managed to get back on her good side eventually. Katara sighed; she didn't like leaving him the way she had, in anger. It felt stupid now, that she wouldn't let him worry about her a little. She might need to apologize later. With a rattle that jolted her from her thoughts, the palanquin stopped, and was lowered to the ground.

Katara jumped out, and was immediately greeted by a small elderly woman, "I am Chun Hua, Lady Katara; I will sew your betrothal robe." Chun Hua bowed briskly and turned, leading Katara and Jun inside.

The main room of the large shop sported numerous bolts of cloth, most in varying tones of red, and all ridiculously expensive. On the wall behind the counter were traditional Fire Nation renderings of various styles of dress, and above them, oddly enough, was a portrait of Zuko. Katara had seen similar portraits of Ozai in various Fire Nation buildings, and assumed it was a show of patriotism. The rendering was beautifully done, but Katara found the grim face Zuko made to be distasteful. Zuko could look imposing if he chose to, in fact he could look imposing if he chose not to, but the artist seemed to have added just a little extra something that really tipped the scale. There was a harsh cruelty to the face that Zuko simply was not capable of.

"My Lady?" Jun turned to her and bowed, "the fitting room is this way, if it pleases you."

"Right, sorry," Katara glanced once more at the portrait, then followed Jun through an ornate doorway. The room she entered had a large wall-mirror, from ceiling to floor and wall to wall on the far side. Katara could feel her eyes widening, either the Fire Nation had developed a technique for creating mirrors as easily as the Earth Kingdom could, or this shop was beyond prestigious. The Earth and Fire Kingdoms had both developed an easy glassmaking method, which was nice enough, but unnecessary in the Water Tribes and something the Air Nomads hadn't sought after. So far the Earth Kingdom had a monopoly in mirror making, but the Fire Nation almost never lagged behind in technology.

"Here we are then," Chun Hua pulled a heavy looking robe from a tapestry pole, "If you would try this on, Lady Katara." She held up the robe proudly, "It's only the guessing-gown, but I'm told the garment you wore yesterday was a nearly perfect fit, so this one should be close."

"Did you make that robe too?" Katara asked, curious, as she slipped out of her tunic.

"Oh yes, the Fire Lord guessed at your size. He was hopeless of course, but I haven't been around for so little time that I couldn't decipher what he was trying to say," Chun Hua laughed lightly. "You must have made quite an impression on him, he knew your height exactly, and your shape is just as he said," she handed Katara the first layer of the betrothal robe.

"Well I have been here for a full day," Katara smiled at the elderly woman, "he's had plenty of time to memorize my size." Katara pulled the white shift over her head; the first layer of the robe was soft and comfortable.

"No dear, the Fire Lord visited before your arrival, even I can't sew up a garment in an hour," Chun Hua laughed again, this time a little harder, as she handed Katara the next layer.

Katara didn't answer; Zuko couldn't have memorized her size at any other time. She had been to the Fire Nation since the war, but her last visit was nearly a year ago. It was silly to think he was already planning to propose to her. Mai had barely broken it off with him at the time, and he was still hopeful about winning the other Nations over. Their marriage was a very last minute deus ex machina attempt.

When the last layer was on, Katara looked at herself in the mirror. She moved this way and that to get a good look at everything. The outer robe was a blue so light it was nearly white, with darker blue trim along the borders. It was a very simple design, which confused Katara, since the Fire Nation tended toward the dramatic.

"Ah!" Chun Hua exclaimed excitedly, "perfect! A small adjustment in the shoulders is all it needs."

"Is this the design all the Fire Lady's wore?" Katara asked, twisting to see her back in the mirror.

"It is similar, but no." Chun Hua shrugged, "the family symbol is usually displayed more prominently, but you do not have one. Also, the last Fire Ladies wore armor, a symbol of their usefulness in battle. They'd be completely useless in a real battle of course, but the whole introductory ceremony is to present the nobles with a Fire Lady who is with the times. Your robe will look considerably better once the design is painted in." Chun Hua sighed happily, pinching a bit of cloth at the shoulders.

"Painted?" Katara had never heard of painting clothes before.

"Yes, it's more common to embroider designs, but that takes too long, you wouldn't be able to wear your robe for a week at least." Chun Hua drew herself up, "my shop boasts the finest cloth painter in the Fire Nation, Qing Nian."

"Well then, I look forward to wearing this even more, knowing that," Katara tried to be polite.

"Good," Chun Hua nodded brusquely, "let's get you back into your clothes then."

Katara slipped out of each layer quickly and back into her Water Tribe clothing. Despite the surprising comfort of the heavy Fire Nation raiment, her tunic was still her favorite by far.

"Thank you, Chun Hua," Katara bowed, and Jun followed suit.

"Of course, dear, it's not every day I get to make a betrothal gown for the future Fire Lady," Chun Hua bowed and showed them out of the store.

Katara sighed, seeing the palanquin waiting for her, but didn't even grumble when she sat down. She used the ride back to the palace to think. Zuko was sending mixed messages. He had arranged everything for her, setting everything up to make sure she was comfortable and making sure she had a beautiful robe for their betrothal ceremony. At the same time, he insisted on trying to convince her to back out of the marriage, he himself had almost backed out several times. In a way, he did nothing that wasn't considerate to her feelings, but it was confusing the way he seemed to flip flop. Perhaps he was just as confused as she was? Katara wondered what his thoughts were on their marriage. He seemed to dislike the idea only because he thought her unhappy; he had said he wouldn't marry her until she could convince him she loved him. First she'd likely have to convince herself. There was some attraction, and he had been a close enough friend during the final stages of the war, it shouldn't be too hard. There was no blind passion, as she had felt for Jet, but then again Jet hadn't been the best choice for a crush at the time. He had straightened himself out later, but by the time that had happened she hated him almost as much as she came to hate Zuko. Well, at least the two had something in common; she had hated both with a passion for a good long time. Somehow that didn't sound so wonderful.

The Palanquin halted and Katara jumped out, glad to be on her own two feet again. She hadn't managed to find comfort in the rhythm since her first ride. Katara walked briskly through the gates and Jun followed, but once inside Jun took the lead. "Where do you wish to go, My Lady?"

"My rooms, if you don't mind," Katara smiled and Jun led her away. She thought the path seemed familiar, and was proud of herself for remembering at least _something_ about the palace.

Once at Katara's door, Jun glanced at the shadows through the hall windows, "the Fire Lord will likely be done with his audience within an hour, would you like to be informed when he is free, Lady Katara?"

"Yes, please," Katara said, glad not to be alone all day. She entered her rooms, unsure what to do while waiting for Zuko to be free. She wished someone was here with her, a friend she could talk to when Zuko was busy. Aang was always fun, and Sokka was infuriating, but she'd trade her courtyard for a chance to hear one of his stupid jokes again. Katara sighed and wandered into the courtyard in question, once again appreciating the beauty of the fountain. The mist permeated the air, not just around the fountain, but around the entire courtyard, cooling and refreshing the air. If everything hadn't been immaculately clean, Katara might have worried about mold growing on the walls and in between the tiles. The dragon centerpiece would likely wear away over the years, it was made of a smooth white stone, but the careful design wouldn't even be dulled for many years to come.

Katara saw a flash of white in the water and looked more closely. A small white Koi was swimming around in the pool. Upon further inspection, she found a small black Koi as well. Did they represent Tui and La? Excepting the dragon, which was a Fire Nation symbol, the courtyard did have a strong Water Tribe theme.

Katara left the fish alone and more closely inspected the rest of the courtyard. The walls appeared to be made of the same stone as the dragon, and had been sanded smooth. There were short benches, white stone with blue tile, placed periodically around the small space- just far enough from the misty spray to be kept dry by the daytime sun. She hadn't noticed them earlier, but they did blend in rather well with the wall and floor. Now that it was light out, everything came more fully into focus.

The arches along the walls were mostly mock-doorways, although a few truly did have doors as white as the walls. The first one she opened lead to a light hallway, which Katara chose not to get lost in by closing the door, she could ask Zuko about it later. The second led to yet another hallway to ask Zuko about, and Katara left that alone as well, disappointed by her short exploration. She didn't doubt the safety of exploring the palace, she could easily find someone to lead her back to her rooms and might even manage to stumble upon them herself, but she didn't particularly feel like getting lost at the moment. She could always ask someone for a tour, maybe Jun would do it, but then again she'd rather go with Zuko.

Katara sighed, she felt like such a baby. Did she need Zuko for everything? It had only been a day since her arrival, and she already leaned on him for every little thing. She looked longingly at the doors, and then made up her mind; it was an excellent day to get lost in the palace.

"Time to explore," Katara spoke aloud to herself, picking the darker hallway. She wandered its length a few times, back and forth, before choosing to turn at the far end. It was silly, but she felt empowered just choosing where to get lost. Slowly she began to feel even more confidant, no one but Zuko and she lived in the Inner Palace, the guards and servants all had families to go to when they weren't working. Very few slept within the walls, and all the rooms were just waiting to be peeked at. As Zuko's future bride, it was hardly wrong to peek at rooms only Zuko could claim as his own.

The first room Katara looked through had furniture, but everything was coated in a layer of sheets and dust. It appeared to be a bedroom. Katara wondered briefly about the state of the futon, but everything was too dusty to seem worth looking at right then. The next door was larger, and Katara found herself in a considerably cleaner room, filled to the brim with interesting items. It appeared to be a storage room, but everything was well tended. There was a pai sho board leaning against the wall, and shelves of knick knacks. One shelf had several small cloth sacks, filled with differently styled pai sho pieces, and another held old scrolls. Katara unrolled one, curious, and found a painting of Zuko and Mai. It was an excellent rendering, although Mai had dropped some of the gloominess over the years, and the painting was a bit out of date.

Katara sat on a small stool, looking more closely at the painting. It made her sad to look at them together. They had seemed so in love when she had observed them after the war, but they had just grown apart. Katara spent another minute looking at Zuko, then rolled the scroll back up and pulled out another. This one was Iroh, back when he was young. His hair was black, and his facial hair was short. He seemed happy enough, with a goofy smile on his face. Katara liked the odd look on him better than the stern one on the painting of Zuko in Chun Hua's shop, although Iroh's painter wasn't quite as skilled. Smiling to herself, Katara replaced the scroll and pulled out another. This painting was of a man Katara had never met before, but she had seen his likeness, it was Avatar Roku. The parchment was considerably older than the others, and while she'd have liked to look at him longer, to get a better sense of Aang's past, the thin paper felt too fragile and Katara carefully replaced it.

After sorting through several other paintings and a few documents, Katara moved on to the shelf with small statues, and the shelf with dolls. There were a few old weapons, and a few new ones, and a good store of fabric took up a small section. The room thoroughly searched through, Katara's curiosity was sated, and she moved out into the hallway again.

Katara wandered aimlessly, not bothering to memorize her path, looking into various rooms as she went. She passed several guards on her explorations, but ignored them in favor of the many doors she found. There were courtyards, reception rooms, small dining rooms, a pai sho room, locked rooms, and all manner of rooms around her new home. She kept at it until she found a particularly ignored section of the palace. The corners were dusty, the doors not as shiny, and the torches unlit. The atmosphere wasn't welcoming, but it was perfect for exploring. Katara entered a room through a particularly dilapidated door, the paint was peeling, but the knob was shiny with use. She supposed it was a servant's shortcut, and meant only to take a quick glance, but instead found a storeroom similar to the one near her rooms, with a small door on the opposite side. The shelves in this case were filled with cloth bundles, mostly in greens. They were bulky, and Katara couldn't think of what might be underneath. She was about to unwrap one when she heard a noise through the second door.

"Damned lock," someone grunted, and Katara could hear scraping noises.

"At least no one can get in," another voice suggested helpfully.

Seeing that she was obviously not supposed to be there had Katara out in a hurry. She thought whoever it was rather stupid for not locking the door she had gone through, but chose not to dwell as she fast walked into a more used section of the palace.

"Guess I'm _not_ supposed to go everywhere," Katara thought aloud. She walked around, waiting to run into a guard or servant, and leaving the rest of the doors she passed alone. Zuko would be done anytime now, and they could take lunch together or something of that sort. Katara passed a large set of double doors that she recognized. She hadn't been through them, but she had walked past them at some point. She hesitated outside; two large clean doors in a bright clean hallway seemed to indicate a very public area. But then again, she had managed to get herself into a private storeroom not too many hallways ago. Katara bit her lip lightly, and then shrugged. Might as well.

Katara pushed open the doors and found herself in a slightly burnt courtyard. It looked suspiciously like a Fire Bending practice area, especially since there were some burnt piles of something here and there, and a long pool of water along one wall. There were weights and bars placed in one corner of the large area, and sealed behind glass pressed into the walls were Fire Bending scrolls. The movements had a stronger base than water, like Earth Bending, but involved a more fluid movement than earth, like Water Bending. Here and there were some Air Bending-like spins, although the jumps looked suspiciously earthy.

Katara tried out a few Fire Bending techniques. Her form was tentative and weak, but it was kind of fun to try new movements. Maybe she could even invent something for her Water Bending. Channeling electricity was based on Water Bending after all; why not base a water form on Fire Bending? She pulled some of the water from the long pool and let it splash down in front of her, then tried a kick pictured on one of the Fire Scrolls. Nothing happened. She shrugged to herself and tried a few punches, then another kick. This time the kick did something, the water froze in sharp spikes, facing away from her. Not entirely useful, when she could do similar and more violent things without taking her foot from the ground.

Inspired by her light success, Katara tried to picture Toff. She imagined Toff pulling a boulder from the ground. She would stomp once hard and then lift her arms, and a pothole would be born. It wasn't as fluid as Katara was used to, but she thought she might be able to do something similar if she wanted to pick up a chunk of ice, such as the one in front of her. She gave it a try and the firm stomp turned the ice to water. Lifting her arms resulted in some light splashing.

Laughter floated in through the doorway behind her, "the whole palace is looking for you, you know."

Katara whirled, nearly losing her balance, "Zuko! How did you find me?"

"Actually, I just looked everywhere," Zuko said, "surprisingly, you're a lot harder to find than the Avatar."

Katara could feel herself blushing, "how long have you been out of the meeting?"

"Not long, a half hour or so," Zuko shrugged, "and if you'll excuse me for one moment," Zuko exited the crispy courtyard briefly, and then reentered. "I called the search off, mind if I join you?" he gestured to the courtyard in general.

"Feel free," Katara hoped her blush would end soon, "I would have found my way back, you know."

"Eventually," Zuko didn't agree or disagree, as he took off his shirt and shoes.

Katara turned away quickly. It wasn't as though she'd never seen him without a shirt; in fact he'd seen her in her underclothes. Training with the Avatar hadn't been something anybody ever seemed to do fully clothed. She could feel her blush deepening and gave up on the Ice Bending idea she had in favor of something big enough to hide her face. She spun wildly and lifted her arms, pulling herself up in a wave, and then launched an attack at Zuko.

He was ready for it with a large spurt of flame that turned half her water to steam. She regrouped, and sent another attack his way. Neither of them had grown rusty in the years of peace, and the dramatics worked well to hide her embarrassment. Gradually Katara's embarrassment was replaced by concentration and concentration by enjoyment. She had never liked fighting, but she hadn't sparred in a long time, and it was hard to dislike it when everything was as friendly as it was now. It felt good, cleansing, to let out one of the old war cries and shoot ice at someone who would melt it to nothing and shoot fireballs in retaliation.

Katara began to tire soon enough, and she noticed Zuko's hard breathing as well. Time for one last move. She pulled as much water as she could from the pool, draining it dry, and spread it over the yard. Zuko tried to dry a place for his feet, but there was too much water for him to succeed, and Katara quickly pulled everything up to freeze his body in a block of ice. She gave it a few finger wiggles and Zuko's head sprouted ice petals. He made an absolutely lovely daisy.

Katara laughed and sat down, "I'm done."

Zuko melted himself out of his flowery prison and sat down next to her, looking silently at the remains of the daisy.

"Like it?" Katara grinned at him.

Zuko shot a fireball at it and glared at Katara, but his eyes seemed to dance, killing off any fear Katara might have felt at being glared at by an angry Zuko. "I prefer fire lilies."

Katara's grin grew, "I'll remember that for next time."

Zuko snorted, and lay back on the granite floor. After a while he commented, "I can get the pool refilled easily enough, but I don't suppose you could just-" he trailed off suggestively.

"Sure," Katara shoved all the water left in the courtyard into the pool.

"I've never been attacked by the pool before," Zuko commented in a friendly way after a while.

"I bet you've had to jump in a few times though," Katara lay down as well, imagining a young Zuko learning to Fire Bend near an emergency water supply.

"I never jumped in, just dipped a few fingers and toes," Zuko's breathing was normalizing faster than Katara's.

"Huh," Katara huffed in disbelief, making a conscious effort to stabilize her own breathing.

Zuko's stomach grumbled and Katara sat up, "I'm sorry, am I keeping you from lunch?"

"No," Zuko paused, and then sat up too, "are you hungry?"

"A bit," Katara lied, she was very hungry.

Zuko stood and offered Katara his hand, "let's eat then." Zuko pulled her to her feet, then smirked, "think you could find the Jade Room without me?"

Katara snorted, "I could find it blindfolded," then added wryly to herself, "if someone led me anyway."

"I'll lead you," Zuko pulled his shoes back on, and then looked at his dress shirt apprehensively. "I could use a change of clothes though; I'll take you back to your rooms if you'll wait for me."

Katara could easily bend her sweat away, Water Benders cleaned up pretty easily, but she wanted to brush her hair. If he was going to clean up, she wouldn't just go as she was. "Sure," Katara replied, and let Zuko lead her away from the crispy courtyard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author note: Sorry it took so long, in addition to being a longer chapter, it gave me a lot of trouble when I tried to write in a problem that was a little too big for me to handle right then. I also accidentally deleted (I usually close, **_**then**_** hit save, I accidentally hit "no" on the "save changes?" pop-up) about two pages of work, and I'm still not sure if I retyped everything accurately enough (plus it's incredibly boring to have to retype something, as well as immensely disappointing to have done something so stupid). I also had to retype about two pages because of extremely of out of character actions and ridiculously corny clichés. On a better note, I'm also late because I started watching the Avatar series again and read a new book. It's always nicer to be late for a positive reason, and I'm glad I at least had a few good things to temper my unhappiness. Please enjoy. Oh! and I'm going to be sending my computer in for some much needed fixing, but I have no idea when. Basically, there'll be some serious lagging somewhere along the line anywhere from tomorrow to two years from now.**

A knock sounded at her door, but when Katara opened it no one was there. She looked around, confused, and was about to ask the guard what he needed when the knock came again. It was coming from another door. She checked the courtyard door first, thinking it unlikely that anyone would enter her rooms through the bath.

"Zuko," Katara blinked.

There was an awkward silence for a brief moment before Zuko broke it, "What is it?"

"Can I get locks for my courtyard?" Katara deadpanned.

Zuko reddened, "this way is just closer to my rooms, I can go if you want." He was obviously flustered.

Katara watched him argue with himself about whether he should just leave, and giggled, "I was kidding, Zuko."

Another awkward silence presided, "oh, of course." Zuko's smile was pained.

Katara sighed, not all jokes were funny. "Are you going to take me to the Jade Room or shall I find it myself?" she thrust out her arm, waiting for Zuko to take it. She hoped she didn't seem forward, but she also hoped he'd hurry up and forget her stupid joke.

After a moment Zuko took her arm lightly, barely holding it, and led her out of the courtyard and into the lighter hallway, the as-yet unexplored one. Katara felt like he had thrown a fireball at her, and she had failed to block it. Was she stupid? She knew that any mention of privacy issues would get her more than she'd bargained for. Any mention of anything whatsoever had to be carefully phrased to prevent an argument about the marriage. She could practically feel Zuko reaffirming his belief that they wouldn't be a good match. Somewhere behind his eyes the gears were turning, and in the wrong direction.

At the point where Katara could have found her own way, right in front of the Jade Room, Zuko dropped her arm and opened the doors. He waited silently for her to enter, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, as Katara so often found herself lately.

The room was unusually dark, in fact far more than unusually dark, completely unlit, "Zuko? Why is there no light?"

"Hmm?" Zuko startled out of his thoughts, looking into the Jade Room over Katara's shoulder. He placed a hand on her arm, moving her to the side so that he could light up without scorching her. His small flame illuminated a completely redecorated room, and a rather sheepish young Lin.

"My Lord, Lady Katara," Lin bowed low, "I'm sorry, I didn't finish," Lin's voice was breathy and high.

"Finish what, exactly?" Zuko glanced around the room, lighting a few lamps with his bending.

"Decorating, my Lord," Lin bowed again, full of nervous energy.

"Good Luck?" Katara pointed to a banner and looked at Zuko curiously, "what requires luck?"

Zuko slapped himself on the forehead and Katara could see his face reddening, he answered Katara by saying to Lin, "the betrothal is tomorrow."

Lin looked mortified, "Well I know, but I thought it might be nice to celebrate, I mean, it's a joyous occasion and, um, I got you a gift!" Lin bowed to Katara, holding a small package in front of her while she stared at the floor.

Katara blinked, surprised; Lin certainly was excitable. "Thank you," Katara hesitated, then took the small item from the young girl. No one moved or spoke while she held it, and after a moment Katara realized that she was to open it. The cloth wrapping parted to reveal a particularly fine comb, made of wood, with detailed patterns carved along the hold. It was an exquisite piece, not as expensive as Zuko's headpiece, but far more beautiful. She didn't know when she would wear it; it was too beautiful for just any old day, and probably not gold enough to be worn among the Fire Nation elite. As much as Katara enjoyed dressing up and wearing something nice, the Fire Nation enjoyed it more. Gold jewelry seemed to be in fashion at all times.

"It's beautiful, Lin," Katara said honestly, "I appreciate it, but you didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh, I know you're used to prettier things," Lin's voice squeaked. "You don't have to wear it, or keep it, or anything."

"No, no! I love it, Lin," Katara corrected the girl, "in fact I'm going to wear it right now." Katara stuffed it into her top knot, "see?"

Lin looked up and giggled, then returned to mortified and bowed extra low, "I'm sorry!"

Zuko chuckled lightly, apparently recovered from his initial embarrassment. "May I?" he indicated her top knot with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks," Katara reddened, turning so he could have access to her hair. Zuko pulled the comb gently from the knot, then replaced it properly. He gave it a small tweak, making sure it would stay in place if she moved her head any which way. He then pulled a few strands of hair back into their place, his fingers grazing her cheek lightly, before pulling away. Katara thought briefly how nice it had felt, feeling Zuko's hands on her hair, then shook her head. She was being silly; it always felt good when someone else played with her hair. When she was little she had always wanted her mother to brush it.

"It's going to fall out if you keep doing that," Zuko's face might have looked a little pink, but then again, the few lighted lamps were casting a red glow, so it was hard to tell.

Lin smiled brightly, "you look very beautiful, Lady Katara."

"Um, thanks," Katara smiled back, flattered.

"Well," Zuko gave the room another glance, "I suppose we'll take our meal elsewhere." Then he looked at Lin, "will you have everything decorated today?"

"Oh, yes, my lord!" Lin bowed.

"We will dine among your decorations later then. Please inform Lee that Katara and I will be taking our lunch in the garden."

Lin bowed and scampered through the servants' door, and Zuko showed Katara out. "Isn't she cute?" Katara grinned at him while they walked.

Zuko chuckled, "she's Jun's niece; she joined my staff only a few weeks ago. Her father owns the only jewelry store in the Fire Nation to feature wooden pieces."

"Wow, I always had you pegged for an I-don't-know-the-names-of-my-servants kind of guy," Katara remarked, surprised Zuko would know so much about a young servant girl.

Zuko was quiet for a while, "Jun has served the palace for a long time, and I had Lin checked out. I wouldn't have known her name if I hadn't assigned her to you."

"Oh," Katara wasn't sure how to reply, and they both walked in silence through the palace.

Zuko led Katara down a few shallow steps and into a medium sized courtyard. There was a sumptuous carpeting of grass and a few trees, but other than that it wasn't very garden-like. There was a small pond to her left, and she could see turtleducks playing in the water.

Zuko stepped off of the path and plopped himself down on the grass near the pond and Katara followed suit. "Reminds me of the good old days," Katara remarked idly.

"Hm?" Zuko looked at her questioningly.

"It reminds me of when we were camping out all over the countryside, eating around a fire, just being outside." Katara laughed, "the Boomer-Aang Squad."

"The what?" Zuko looked even more confused.

"Sokka's name, not mine," Katara grinned and shook her head, "for us, for everyone who traveled with the Avatar."

"Ah," Zuko grinned too, "Sokka."

"Sokka," Katara agreed, as two servants in palace uniform and a picnic basket made their way toward them.

The servants found a relatively level spot of ground not too far away and began setting up a mat, placing various dishes in some sort of order while Katara and Zuko watched in silence. Once they were finished they both bowed, and one left.

"Will you require that I pour the tea, Fire Lord?"

"No," Zuko stood, offering Katara a hand up, "we can take care of it."

Katara took Zuko's offered hand, "Thanks."

They both sat down on opposite sides of the mat and ignored each other in favor of their stomachs. The food looked like a compromise between the Fire Nation and Water Tribe chefs. A large portion of it was traditional Water Tribe fair, but with a Fire Nation flare for spices. It was unusual, but not unappetizing.

While she ate Katara thought. She had felt so awkward when she had sparred with Zuko. Well, only at first, but why should she have felt awkward? She had fought him before, although only when angry. Katara supposed it might be awkward to spar with someone who had previously only fought her when she was angry. How had she been feeling then? Happy? She had felt so content, so good, while she sparred with Zuko, joyous maybe. But what about before that? When he had bared his chest? It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before; she hadn't blushed at seeing a man's chest since she was little and had seen some of the older boys one-upping each other by staying in the water as long as they could. They had all gotten sick of course, even the one who had jumped right back out again.

"Find something you like?" Zuko's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What?" Katara asked, confused.

"You were smiling," Zuko shrugged, "I thought it might be the food."

"Oh, the food was good, but I was actually just thinking," Katara trailed off, she had been thinking about Zuko.

"About what?" Zuko asked, curious.

"About my tribe. The older boys used to compete with each other by jumping in the ocean and staying there until they turned blue." And about you, Katara thought to herself.

Zuko shuddered, "cold. What brought that on?"

"I don't know," Katara shrugged, glad she wasn't blushing. Blushing seemed to be a constant lately.

"Huh," Zuko leaned back, looking pensive. "I have the rest of today free if there's anything you want to do."

As it happened, there were quite a few things Katara wanted to do. She wanted a tour, not just of the palace, but of the city. The last time she had toured the capitol she had been attacking it, and she hadn't gotten around to a proper tour the few times she had visited afterward. She wouldn't have any problems if Zuko took her shopping, and she could hardly complain if he took her hiking. She'd be fine just talking too. She wanted to see a real live volcano from a tourist's point of view, and she wanted to take a _real_ vacation on Ember Island. There was more, but of course Katara figured she should stick to something easily accomplished within a few hours, and there was one thing she needed in particular, "a tour of the palace would be nice."

"Consider it done," Zuko grinned and stood.

"Starting from my courtyard," Katara added. Her rooms would be where she spent most of her time anyway; she might as well memorize that area first.

Zuko looked mildly confused, "why from there?"

Katara stood and said, "I sort of explored through one of the hallways, but the one we went through to get here is still a mystery."

"Sort of?" Zuko asked, starting toward the garden entrance.

"Sort of," Katara replied, catching up to him to walk by his side.

"Think you could find your way through there then?" Zuko asked.

"Some of it, anything further than three or four hallways is beyond me though," Katara shrugged.

"Maybe I'll take you through there too then," Zuko commented, "might as well."

"Sure," Katara said, "but the lighter hallway comes first."

Zuko grinned, "Alright then, we're here," he spread his arms, indicating the hallway in general.

Katara looked around, it certainly was an unusually bright hallway, "that was fast."

"The garden is just down the hallway and left all the way to the end of the other hall; you probably can't miss it from there, considering the fact that there isn't a wall. A few hallways down from there is the Jade Room. Also, your courtyard is right here," Zuko pointed his thumb at a small red door two feet away. There was a blue ring around the handle, probably to insure that she could find it. "And if you follow this hallway, turn left at the end, and take the farthest left at the end of _that_ hallway, you will see your guard," Zuko pointed off in the direction Katara hadn't been through.

If her guard was only a few hallways down, Zuko had to be pretty close to make taking the back way into her rooms look much shorter. Katara wondered where his rooms were, but decided against asking right then, to avoid the topic of Zuko and her courtyard. Besides, it wasn't like she actually _needed_ to know where he slept or anything.

"What else is around here?" Katara asked.

"Not much," Zuko shrugged, "do you remember the room you used to sleep in when you visited the palace?"

"It's hard to forget," Katara grinned. Her room had been ridiculously extravagant; it had almost been hard to fall asleep in such an over-the-top place.

"It's not too far from here, in the guest wing; it doubles as a residence for family who choose to live in the palace, although there hasn't been a large royal family in a long time." Zuko paused pensively, "there really isn't a lot to interest one person alone in the palace. Despite popular belief, I spend most of my time working, not basking lazily in luxury."

"Then what do you do for fun?" Katara asked, "You're one person alone, you must have come up with something."

Zuko was silent, thinking. After a while Katara began to wonder if Zuko actually had fun anymore, somehow it wouldn't surprise her if he felt that working was his destiny or something and focused all of his being on that.

"You do have fun, don't you?" Katara asked, worried.

"Of course," Zuko said a little too forcefully. "There is a library, I don't suppose you'd be interested in that?" he looked at her hopefully.

"Sure," Katara said cautiously. The fire Nation had devoted itself, during Ozai's reign, to burning any literature that the Fire Lord didn't deem appropriate. What wasn't destroyed was edited beyond recognition. Naturally, anything that wasn't written in the Fire Nation had come to a rather untimely end. Katara doubted that Zuko had built up his library very much since then, it had only been a few years since the purge after all.

"This way," Zuko led Katara onward, in the direction he had indicated if she wanted to find her front door. The walk was a silent one, as Zuko appeared to be lost in his thoughts and Katara didn't want to disturb him. He frowned a lot, and once Katara thought she heard him mumble "fun." They paused only once before reaching the library, at a giant set of red doors.

"These go to the main courtyard, right?" Katara asked before Zuko had a chance to say anything.

"Yea," Zuko seemed surprised she recognized them, "the library is close to the main courtyard, they're good identification markers."

Katara nodded and they both walked on, not many turns later, they arrived at a large set of brown doors, decorated elaborately with a many-fisted dragon. Each fist contained a scroll, and in its teeth was the largest scroll of all. Zuko pushed the doors open to a dim room. None of the lamps were lit, and the windows were high but small. Even without the lamps, Katara could see that the room had a high capacity for scrolls. The walls were high and the shelves many, half of the scrolls could only be reached by way of ladders placed strategically around the room.

"One minute, I'll give us some light," Zuko wandered from lamp to lamp, bidding them rise from their long slumber. Obviously, this wasn't a place he used often. Katara's already small hope that he might have more than propaganda gracing his library died out completely. As the light increased, Katara started to wonder if Zuko even had propaganda. Many of the shelves were only half full or less, and one shelf looked like it had been attacked by the Oonagi.

Zuko sighed angrily from across the room, "The Fire Nation military records are impeccable, our armies are the best trained and disciplined of all the four nations, and our culture is dying because of it."

Katara wasn't sure how to reply, especially since she agreed. The militarism that had taken over the Fire Nation had usurped everything else, and anyone who hadn't followed along had long since given up hope. When she had masqueraded as the Painted Lady, Katara had seen firsthand a village that had lost its entire way of life to the army. But it wasn't entirely hopeless; a little cleaning had given them their lives back.

"You'll rebuild, Zuko," Katara replied, "it'll just take some time."

Zuko looked like he didn't agree, but reigned in whatever it was he intended to say. No one spoke for some time; Katara blew some dust off of a few scrolls and Zuko sat at a high table, his face hidden in shadows. Katara found little of interest other than a Fire Bending scroll that hadn't been in the crispy courtyard. It had to do with creating something in the fire, and looked like it took enormous concentration. The scroll used a small fish as an example, and in one corner indicated that it was one in a series of fifty scrolls. Katara suspected she could do something similar with water if she played a little with the movement, and tucked the scroll into her sash for later review. Then she walked over to Zuko.

"So, where did you hold today's war meeting?" Katara was genuinely curious, but mostly hoped Zuko would lighten up a little if he actually found something he could show her around his palace.

"The throne room. Anyone who wants to speak to their Fire Lord speaks to me through there," Zuko looked up, "you could attend a meeting if you wanted."

"Yeah, if you'd invite me next time; will you show me where it is?" Katara asked.

"Of course," Zuko stood, and then noticed her scroll, "what did you find?"

"Exhibition Fire Bending," Katara handed the scroll to him, "I've seen a fire dragon before, can you do anything like that?"

Zuko looked over the movements briefly, "my studies focused in other areas, but almost anyone can make a fish." He moved free of the table and went through the movements, the result was a small flaming fish swimming through the air around his palm. They both watched it for a moment before Zuko made a fist and the fish dissipated. "It's not always wise to use fire in a library, however dilapidated."

"Probably not," Katara agreed, turning to leave, once at the door she glanced back, "coming? Or shall I find the throne room through trial and error?"

"You'd never get there, it's surprisingly obscure," Zuko jogged up to her.

"Bet I could find it, it's bound to be near the main courtyard, which is only a few hallways in that direction," Katara grinned, showing off her newfound knowledge of the palace anatomy.

"Lead the way then," Zuko looked mock serious. Of course since it was him, he might really have been serious.

Katara successfully found the main courtyard without making even one wrong turn, partially due to the fact that when she had tried to make a wrong turn Zuko had snickered lightly. Upon entry Katara looked around, finding only two other sets of doors. She headed for the set that didn't lead to the outer world, and found the dining hall. It was an enormous room, with pillars twenty feet high and higher, wreathed with large golden dragons. The seats and tables were tiered, the highest of which was a throne, barely visible through layers of sheer scarlet fabric. Immediately through the doors was a low stage, probably used by performers hired to entertain the Fire Nation's nobles.

"Wow, how often do you eat in here?" Katara tapped her toe lightly on the glossy red floor.

"Rarely. I'm not fond of state dinners," Zuko stepped forward, standing by her side instead of behind her.

"I don't suppose there's a door in here leading to a throne room?" Katara caught herself flirting. She could have kicked herself; she was shamelessly using him for information. Or was she really flirting? It had happened so fast, instinctively, but then again she wasn't above flirting to get what she wanted from someone. She wasn't above flirting with a stranger anyway, but Zuko was much closer than that, she had thought she was above using him.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, but showed no other emotion when he answered, "There might be a shortcut."

"In that case," Katara started toward the first small set of doors, "I'll keep looking," looking at anything but Zuko. A few minutes and three sets of doors later, Katara knew two ways to get out onto a vantage point overlooking the city, and one way into the kitchen. Only the throne area remained unexplored.

Katara reached for the fabric and looked back at Zuko questioningly, "Can I go back here?"

Zuko nodded assent from his side of the room. He had chosen to sit out her exploring at one of the lower tables, but Katara had felt his eyes on her back the whole time. Now he stood and followed her behind the curtain.

"Your place in society is by my side, if anything you are more welcome on this side of the veil than on the other," Zuko rested a palm lightly against the fabric. "Not that anyone could complain if you chose to grace them with your presence."

Katara looked away from the small door she had been eyeing. "I don't interact with anyone?" Katara wasn't sure if she should be relieved or lonely.

"That's not quite what I meant; state dinners are mostly for show. You may interact as you please with anyone you meet, but traditionally those behind the veil and before it do not mingle until out of the Dining Hall."

"How," Katara paused, "different."

"Different?" Zuko asked, a light frown barely evident upon his face.

"Different from my tribe. The chief is the strongest and bravest man in the tribe, and proves his worth every day by interacting with the people. The title is often passed down by birth, but if a challenger comes forward he may compete for the title," Katara smiled proudly, "my Father took the title from the old chief before I was born."

"Your father is an honorable man," Zuko replied.

"Yeah, he'll probably pass the title to Sokka in a few years," Katara sighed.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "is that bad?"

"No, not in principle, but Sokka doesn't really belong there. He isn't happy without Suki." Katara didn't know what Suki saw in Sokka, but she knew they shouldn't have split apart. Suki had tried living in the South Pole, she had tried really hard to make a life for herself there, but she just couldn't take the cold, the dark, or the remoteness. She had been withering away, and Sokka had taken her home. Half a year later he had come back to the tribe, he and Suki had called off their marriage in favor of their homes. In the end Sokka had wanted to be with his tribe more than his bride, or at least he _thought_ that was what he wanted, Katara knew better.

"I see," Zuko sat heavily on a low stair. "Life can be empty without a purpose."

Katara sat down next to him. "I suppose you know firsthand what it's like to lose your purpose," Katara said sympathetically, "but surely you're happier now?"

"I don't know. At first I wanted to capture the Avatar, then I wanted to defeat my father and bring about peace. Those goals were easy enough to focus on, but now I feel like I'm missing something," Zuko let out a frustrated sigh.

"Like what?" Katara asked, wanting to help.

Zuko looked her in the eyes, his face unreadable, for a long moment, and then said quietly, "I don't know."

Katara looked away, Zuko's eyes were unnerving; he looked emotionless, but somehow there was too much emotion in his steady gaze, too much too look at directly. They both sat silently for a long while, and then Zuko stood.

"There's a shortcut to the throne room here," Zuko pointed to the door Katara had been eyeing, "the usual entrance is actually down the hallway you almost took."

"What?" Katara stood quickly, "but you laughed! I thought it was because I was going the wrong way."

"No, not because you were going the wrong way, but because you were going the right way," Zuko grinned lightly.

Katara smacked herself on the forehead, vowing never to feel sorry for Zuko again, and turned to the small door. It was surprisingly plain, matching the wall around it in color and texture, with only a dark Fire Nation insignia to show off its presence. She gave the handle a light pull and found herself behind a low wall of fire. Beyond the fire was a large clear area, completely unlit.

"Kind of dark, isn't it?" Katara turned to watch Zuko follow her through the door, closing it behind him.

"The lamps are lit when I have need of them, but most of the light comes from the fire curtain," he casually waved a hand at the low fire, which sprung three feet higher. The fresh illumination showed off how similar the Dining Hall's design was to the throne room, red. The main differences were size and column style, the Throne Room columns were coated in what looked like gold bricks and studded with what might have been carnelians.

"You meet with your generals this way?" Katara asked, skeptical. It seemed a little intimidating for a meeting place.

"Yea, a table is brought in, as well as maps and documents of interest. The war materials used to stay in this room at almost all times, but it is no longer a War Room," Zuko smiled grimly.

"Huh," Katara could imagine Ozai lording himself over his generals by hiding behind a fire, but it sounded annoying to her, to have a fire blocking the view of everyone in the room. "I suppose I'll see what it's like at your next meeting."

Zuko nodded, "is there anything else you want to see around the palace?"

"Actually," Katara started thoughtfully, she didn't really _need_ to know where he slept, but she didn't really not need to know either, if that made any sense. "Where are your rooms?"

"If you need me it would be best to ask your guard where I am, I'm rarely in my rooms," Zuko looked uncomfortable.

"Well what's the point of having rooms if you don't use them?" Katara tried to grin playfully as she said it, to cover up her disappointment at not finding out where Zuko slept. It was silly really, to want to know where he was at night, beyond silly.

"I spend most of my time in my study, would you like to see that?" Zuko changed the subject.

"Sure," Katara smiled for real now.

"Here," Zuko parted the flames and jumped down from the platform. Katara followed him, looking nervously at the oil beneath her feet, kept from burning her only because Zuko willed it so. They exited the room together through a cloth hanging, red, with the Fire Nation insignia boldly dyed onto its long folds. They then traveled through a large room and into a hallway Katara recognized from earlier. They passed quickly into an area she didn't know, and went up a flight of stairs. Soon they arrived at a gold door, complete with dragon knocker and two guards. Katara doubted whether Zuko actually needed guards, his skills in battle were beyond compare, and this _was_ the palace, who would attack him here?

"This has been the royal study for many generations," Zuko showed Katara inside, "I had almost everything removed, the décor was a distraction."

"I can tell," Katara looked around and amazingly plain room. It was fairly large, although it had a ways to go to reach the size of the throne room. Two scribes had seats near a window, and three messenger hawks watched Katara intently from their perches between the scribes. As Katara watched, one scribe rose and placed a scroll into the carrying pack of one of the hawks and sent it out through an open window. He bowed once quickly in their direction and sat down to write another letter, ignoring the presence of his Fire Lord and future Fire Lady as if they weren't even there. They looked extremely efficient. On the opposite side of the room sat a wide desk, obviously Zuko's, behind which was a scroll shelf covering the entire wall. The shelf was perhaps half full, and a pile of what looked to be the other half of the shelf's contents rested on Zuko's desk. The only decorations were three rough straw mats and a large tapestry depicting the Fire Nation insignia.

"Will I help you here, once we're married?" Katara asked, unthinking.

"If we are married, you may do as you please," Zuko emphasized the 'if.'

"When we are married," Katara emphasized the 'when,' "I intend to."

"There is no guarantee yet," Zuko fiddled with a scroll that hadn't been properly sealed.

"Then what exactly is a betrothal?" Katara snorted.

Zuko chose not to reply, probably noting that the scribes had stopped their writing, seemingly more interested in the conversation than in their work. So much for efficiency, a little gossip had them thrown. Then again, the marriage was a tad more important than simple gossip.

"Let's keep touring elsewhere," Zuko spoke to Katara while glaring impressively at the scribes. They both looked at each other briefly, and then focused again on their work, seemingly unconcerned with Zuko's anger.

"Impressive," Katara muttered as soon as she and Zuko were out of the scribes' hearing. "They don't seem to be effected by you in the least."

"That's because they aren't, and by tomorrow the entire palace will think we're fighting," Zuko seethed, stomping along ahead of Katara.

"Well, we are," Katara put forward reasonably, "and we've done it before too." She distinctly remembered running out of the Jade Room in tears.

"No, we are not," Zuko whirled on her, furious, "and the last time I covered up."

"Sure we are, we're arguing about the marriage," Katara controlled the urge to get furious right back, "and what do you mean, 'covered up?'"

Zuko stared at her, silent, then turned back to his earlier task of stomping away. Katara followed him all the way to her courtyard door, where he turned abruptly around, yet again, to vent at her, "We _cannot_ appear to be arguing."

"We aren't appearing to be anything, it's the truth," Katara snapped at him, "and you still haven't mentioned how you covered our _last_ argument up."

"The truth doesn't matter, I have a leak somewhere, and I don't know who it is," Zuko let out a frustrated burst of fire through his nostrils.

"A what?" Katara asked, shocked, forgetting about Zuko's mention of a cover up.

"A leak, a spy, a traitor," Zuko looked ready to explode.

"Well don't take it out on me!" Katara's mind was whirling. If it leaked out that she and Zuko were fighting, their marriage would be tainted. Someone was bound to think her a victim in a marriage she didn't want. Even the Northern Water Tribe might not approve, and they had arranged marriages all the time. Of course the Northern Water Tribe probably wouldn't be a problem, they were reasonably pro-Fire Nation, it was the Earth Kingdom rebels that would really raise a fuss.

Zuko took a calming breath, but it didn't seem to help, only making his voice sound slightly restrained, "I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Forget it, I probably deserve it," Katara sighed angrily, she should never have argued with him, no matter how little, in public. "Couldn't you just swear them to silence or something?"

"That's like giving a Fire Bender a volcano, it only adds to the fire," Zuko pinched his brow, frustrated, "and you don't deserve it."

"What can we do?" Katara asked, feeling a slight panic building beneath her breastbone.

"Nothing," Zuko looked at her seriously, "nothing I'd be willing to ask you to do."

Katara glared at him, "idiot! I make my own choices, and I choose to fix this as well as I can." It had been such a small fight, they had barely raised their voices, and yet it could bring the whole plan crashing around their feet. Well, not the _whole_ plan, Katara chided herself. They would still strengthen the Fire Nation with their marriage and over the years no matter how many arguments they had, and there were sure to be plenty, the world would see that their marriage was working. _If_ it worked, but there really was no reason it couldn't.

Zuko didn't answer, he watched her, hawk like, as his breathing became less ragged and his posture less defensive. Katara could hardly think under that predatory glare, but looked back unflinchingly. Soon enough Zuko had relaxed to the point where he looked almost normal, and still he watched her, holding her eyes with his own. Neither of them spoke for a long time, ignoring a guard who passed, and two servants who giggled like the schoolgirls they probably should have been.

Finally Zuko sighed, "Remember Lin?"

"Yes?" Katara made her answer a question, glad to be talking again, but confused as to the subject.

"She's excitable and probably talks too much at the servants' table," Zuko looked at Katara, seemingly for confirmation.

"I could see that," Katara replied, "but what does Lin have to do with our arguing?"

"Nothing whatsoever," Zuko glanced behind Katara and then at the courtyard door, "do you mind if we-"

"Sure," Katara opened the door herself, catching the hint.

Once the door had shut behind the both of them Zuko started again, "I'll have Lin pour the tea tonight, it's easily arranged, and it would be easily masked as a kindness –she did decorate after all."

"_Masked_ as a kindness?" Katara didn't want to be unkind to the girl, evidenced by the acid in her tone.

"That's not what I meant," Zuko waved a hand through the air as though waving Katara's accusation away. "It _is_ kind to allow Lin to pour the tea, that's just not the real reason she'd be doing it."

"Alright," Katara nodded, no longer hostile.

"All we'd have to do is sit a little too close, act a little too friendly, and we'd appear infatuated with each other," Zuko looked like he had stumbled onto a goldmine.

Katara turned and walked to the fountain, watching the water trickle down from the dragon's mouth into the wide pool. Everything Zuko suggested would work, but could she really fake it that easily? She probably would have faked it eventually anyway, to convince Zuko to marry her, but it just felt so wrong somehow, like something essential would be missing.

"Is something wrong?" Zuko asked from behind her, confused.

"No," Katara said reluctantly, "your plan is good, and I'll go along with it."

Zuko was silent for a moment, "you don't have to."

"Of course I do, Zuko," Katara turned, looking at his feet.

"Look, it's not like I haven't noticed that my plans fail to make you happy, I'll think of something else, something you don't have to be involved in," Zuko's stress was obvious.

"Zuko-" Katara started, then stopped, unsure, "I don't want to be a burden to you."

"You're not, Katara," Zuko looked up, trying to catch her eye, only to find her gaze locked firmly on his shoes.

"You don't need to lie to me, Zuko, I know I'm hardly useful, ruining our image and-"

"No," Zuko interrupted, shaking his head. He took a step forward and touched her shoulder, "I'm glad you're here with me, it means a lot that you're still trying to make this work."

"It's hardly working," Katara's voice cracked and she felt a tear slide down her cheek.

There was a brief moment when Katara contemplated running off until she had better control of her emotions, but then Zuko pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms. Surprised, Katara responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his torso. Even through her sadness somehow Katara felt so right, standing there, basking in the comfort Zuko offered. She also felt so hopeless, the betrothal was hardly starting off well, and the marriage might never even happen. All she wanted was peace, and for the people she loved to be happy, but did that mean sacrificing her own happiness? But was she really sacrificing her own happiness? She loved being with Zuko, she loved being with him even now, sharing her inexplicable sadness. It felt almost like he was taking a part of her soul into himself and cleansing it; his soul whispering words of happiness to hers, words of a bright future, and then setting her free to witness everything come true.

They stood like that, Katara silently crying and Zuko silently offering himself as a shoulder for her to cry on, for what felt like forever. Even after Katara ran out of tears Zuko held her, and Katara clung desperately back, her face buried in his chest.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" someone gasped from across the room, and the hallway door slammed shut.

"W-what?" Katara backed out of Zuko's embrace, looking at the now empty door.

"Well," Zuko started, grinning wryly, "I don't think we'll have a problem anymore."

"What?" Katara asked again.

Zuko's smile grew, "that was Lin."


	4. Chapter 4

Katara practically skipped down the hallways to the Jade Room. Zuko kept up easily, a light smile gracing his lips, lighting up his usually grim features when Katara turned to glance at him. She felt so _good_, finally free of some impending sense of doom or whatever it was that had been hanging over her head since her arrival at the palace. She also felt embarrassed to have seemed so vulnerable in front of Zuko, but nothing seemed to be affected other than their closeness, somehow so much more pronounced than before. Katara hadn't needed a friend while she was crying in a long time, or maybe it was just that she hadn't sought one out.

"Hungry?" Zuko asked, offhand.

"A bit," Katara's pace had more to do with her newfound lightness than her hunger. She made it to the Jade Room first and practically threw the doors open, or rather practically yanked her arms off trying to open the heavy doors too quickly.

"Careful," Zuko cautioned, a tad late, as he passed her through the opening.

Katara glared at his back and followed. True to her word, Lin had finished decorating. This time all the lamps were lit, as well as a grandiose spattering of candles. The newly illuminated Jade Room seemed to be trying for a romantic mood. Any surface that wasn't sporting candles sported roses, and the walls looked as though they were made of fortune cookie advice on love. The effect probably _would_ have been romantic if most of the décor vanished, but instead it was cheesy. Katara couldn't help but grin, Lin had overdone everything in her excitement.

"Wow," Zuko mumbled, pausing just inside the threshold, "all the flower sellers in the Fire Nation will eat well tonight."

"No doubt," Katara agreed prosaically, having gotten over her initial shock. She gently elbowed past Zuko to the table, where everything had already been set out, and no servants were in sight. Seemingly they had given up on pouring the tea, although it was possible she and Zuko were being left alone on purpose. The atmosphere was too comical to require any degree of privacy though. It just wasn't romantic enough that being alone with Zuko would really be necessary.

"Still hot?" Zuko asked, coming to stand next to Katara at the table.

"Looks like it," they had both suspected that the food would get cold. When Lin had come looking for Katara, it seemed most likely that they were both late for their meal.

Katara sat down, shoving aside a large bundle of roses. It was surprisingly difficult, the leaves had been stripped away, but the thorns left as they were. Katara wondered briefly who had been sadistic enough to find thorns romantic, but then again, she probably hadn't been meant to move them. There had only been one gap in the thorny barrier, just big enough for two to sit closely together, before she had taken the initiative to clear herself a place. At least the roses smelled good.

Both Zuko and Katara ate lightly, chatting about things like weather and the harvest. It was surprisingly fun; normally Katara would have introduced such topics only if she had nothing else to say. The Fire Nation was well off this year, the sun and rain had conspired perfectly for a good harvest, and fishing was up. During the war, the Fire Nation had taken on a policy of importing their grain from the Earth Kingdom and focusing on weapons production on most of the islands. Zuko was pleased to see that most of his people had no serious trouble reverting back to farming.

"Even the army?" Katara asked, finishing off the last bit of her mild curry.

"Most of the Fire Nation army is still active; if we demobilize too rapidly we risk an attack from anyone not satisfied with the way the war ended," Zuko sighed a little.

"Wont some malcontents just wait to attack?"

"I'm hoping that time will temper their anger," Zuko paused, "and of course there's the marriage."

"That'll curb a few tempers," Katara leaned back, resting her weight on her palms, "how will our marriage figure into your demobilization?"

"I'm not sure yet, until the threat can be reevaluated I can't decide whether to continue demobilizing or to hold off. If our marriage brings peace I will act accordingly, and if not-" Zuko broke off.

"What?" Katara sat up straight, noticing that the tips of Zuko's ears were red. From anger or embarrassment?

"Nothing," Zuko shrugged, "tea?"

Katara shoved her cup forward, "come on, Zuko I'm heavily involved in all of this, it's not right to keep something from me." And if not… then what? He wasn't planning on taking the offensive was he? The other Nations would never stand for it, and their plan would come to nothing.

Now Zuko's face was starting to tint up, he poured her tea and replied, "It's just something my Ministers recommended."

When he made no move to elaborate Katara prodded, "and what did they suggest?"

Zuko was silent for a long time. Katara was beginning to wonder if he'd ever open up when he finally decided to speak, "they suggested that I halt demobilization completely until I have an heir."

Poor Zuko's face was so red, and Katara's was hardly lighter. She knew she'd be expected to have Zuko's children, but it just seemed so soon to be thinking about it. And they hadn't even picked a wedding date, if anything they were putting it off. He had given her a gift, a reprieve from the marriage until she herself wanted it, but could they really wait that long? If things kept on at the pace they were, it could be years before they were married, and perhaps years more until they finally took the initiative to have a child. Katara hardly felt ready, but when would she ever feel ready? Would she ever come to love him? Was she going to have to choose between peace and love? But she had already chosen peace, and even though there wasn't love, there was hardly hatred either.

"Zuko," Katara was hesitant.

"Yes?" Zuko mumbled at the table.

"Let's pick a wedding date."

Zuko didn't reply, and they both listened to Katara's words ringing around in the otherwise silent room. It was strange how a normally echoless room could display the most controversial of words so proudly.

"No," it seemed like forever before Zuko spoke.

"Look, just listen to what I have to say," Katara replied, "We're going to be married eventually anyway, and doing it now or waiting who knows how long isn't going to matter."

"It matters to me," Zuko looked up at Katara, somehow leaking determination through eye contact.

"Why? It's not like we have to act married right away," Katara touched lightly on the topic of an heir, not particularly wanting to think about it yet.

"It's not like the Fire Nation doesn't have political marriages, because we do have that, all the time, but for the most part we marry here for love," Zuko started.

"Just like everywhere else, we both knew before we agreed to this that love might not happen," Katara interrupted.

"Just listen for a second," Zuko held up a hand and Katara quieted. "Even my mother married for love." Zuko glared at Katara when she opened her mouth, "it seems crazy, I know, but they loved each other. Political marriages are never forced. If the prospective couple does not wish to wed, then they will not wed. For the most part there isn't any problem with the system of marrying for love, since the classes stick together. It's hard to fall for someone you never talk to, so it's very rare for a princess to fall for a farmer, and there are few scandalous marriages of upper class citizens to lower class citizens. I always assumed I would fall in love with a noble lady and she would love me in return. I don't intend to marry you if you can't love me."

Katara mulled over what Zuko said, "So, basically, we're hoping we'll get lucky and fall for each other one day?" That seemed a bit optimistic to Katara, but she had genuine affection for Zuko, she could see it happening, sort of. "And what if I want you to love me as well? What if I was to tell you that I wouldn't marry you unless you loved me?" Katara looked half defiantly and half questioningly into Zuko's eyes.

Zuko held eye contact for a while, silent, and then stood. "I'm tired and tomorrow will be long, I'll be retiring early, and you might consider doing the same."

Katara stood as well, "as soon as I have my answer," she wasn't particularly tired, but then, Zuko probably wasn't either.

The atmosphere was surprisingly devoid of anger. It was almost as though they weren't arguing with each other. Their conversation was charged, but with something more tentative than their rage had ever been. It could have been earnestness, or perhaps curiosity, even determination would have managed to describe their words, and yet none were correct.

"I thought we both knew before we agreed to this that love might not happen," Zuko halfheartedly used Katara's own words against her.

Katara knew he didn't really mean it, but it still stung a little to hear him say, even indirectly, that he didn't think love would happen. Then again, hadn't she said the same thing? Then a thought occurred to her, "are you trying to sabotage our marriage?"

"What?" Zuko asked, startled.

"You keep coming up with reasons not to get married, it's perfectly natural for an arranged marriage to be uncomfortable at first, and you know it, but you've been using that excuse in particular," Katara paused in her train of thought, then asked gently, "Is it Mai?"

"What? No, no it's not Mai," Zuko seemed genuine when he said it.

"Then, is it me?" Katara asked, hurt, "do you dislike the thought of marrying me so much-"

"No, it's not that either, I _do_ want to marry you, Katara," Zuko corrected her quickly; "I just want you to want that too."

"If you want the marriage then let's get married," Katara replied, relieved that Zuko wasn't truly against their betrothal, "I want the marriage and you want the marriage, there's no opposing factor here."

Zuko sat back down with a sigh and Katara followed suit, "We want the marriage for peace, which is a noble cause, but I want more than that out of it."

"We're already friends, love will come," Katara hoped she wasn't lying. She still thought arranged marriages unjust, but she had seen in her visits to the North Pole that eventually a vast majority of them worked out fine. The couples developed something over time that bonded them together, usually after having children. There was happiness to be found in such a bond, even if it wasn't the kind of happiness Katara had always wanted. And surely since they had arranged their own marriage there would be some added benefit to them. It was like they were coming together half because they wanted to.

"Perhaps," Zuko massaged the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I don't know."

Katara hardly knew either and didn't answer. Zuko wanted the marriage, as did she, and they both wanted love, but in his case it was nonnegotiable. Then again, did she really so easily dismiss it? Could she have agreed to marry just anyone for peace? No. The answer was overwhelmingly no. She barely had to think about it at all, if anyone but Zuko had asked, she would have said no.

The realization hit Katara like one of Toph's rocks, jolting her from her previous belief that deep down she hadn't truly wanted the marriage. If Aang had needed her in such a way, would she have married him? Surely she would have, she had considered it once, but somehow the idea was repulsive to her. Was Zuko repulsive? Not in the least, their personalities clashed spectacularly and Katara knew that she at least was afraid to be married, but truly there was no dissatisfaction at the thought of being with Zuko for the rest of her life. She was scared, but that was it.

"Katara," Zuko started, "let's just call it a day, we can think on it tonight and talk on it some more tomorrow," he stood, easing around the table to offer his hand.

Katara hesitated, should she tell him? But tell him what exactly? Tell him she was scared of marrying him? That hardly seemed like a good idea.

Zuko picked up on her hesitation and sighed, "Please?"

He'd probably help her get over it though, if she asked. They might argue a little, he'd want to stop the wedding plans because she was scared, and she'd want to keep going, but in the end she knew he could be convinced to be patient. Or she could just ignore it, maybe it'd go away? Katara looked up into Zuko's face and smiled a little, taking his hand and standing. "Tomorrow then," she could think about it some more tonight.

Zuko gave her a small smile as well, and took the lead down the now familiar hallways of the palace. It was a subdued walk, the constant noises that seem like nothing during the day had ceased for the night, and the palace was silent. The hallways were dark, lit only by glass-covered torches and the moonlight through the windows. Moonlight. It was a full moon, no wonder Katara wasn't tired. Zuko hadn't seemed to be truly tired either, but then again, maybe he was. It was good then that they'd be finishing their conversation tomorrow. Besides, she wanted to think.

Zuko bade Katara goodnight at her door and wandered back the way they had come. She watched him briefly and then turned away, entering her courtyard. The water trickling from the dragon echoed hypnotically through the small space, seeming almost to pull Katara forward. At the lip of the pool, Katara glanced down at her reflection, rippling in a pattern that might have been disturbing or beautiful had she been inclined toward romanticism. As it was she felt nothing, and stared blankly at the warped upper body of her reflection. The moon reflected strongly over her right shoulder, clashing with the orange light of the wall lamps. Katara sighed and sat on the wide fountain rim, skimming the water with her fingers.

Zuko. How did she feel about Zuko? Katara hardly knew where to start, she loved him, she wanted to marry him, and he looked good. Wasn't that what everyone wanted? Granted, she didn't entirely _want_ to marry Zuko, he had a horribly disfiguring scar, and she didn't love him in quite the way she'd have liked. But those were weak excuses, why did she keep making them? She told Zuko yes and told herself no, and seemingly Zuko was hearing her inner voice just fine. Who was she lying to then? Herself or Zuko? Her epiphany at dinner told her she was lying to herself, but everything else told her she was lying to Zuko. The evidence seemed overwhelming that she was lying to Zuko, but somehow that didn't feel right. Maybe she was lying to the both of them.

Hypothetically then, why would she lie to herself? Katara hardly knew why she'd _want_ to lie to herself. She'd seen some dense people in her life, and she'd seen some people who lied to themselves to keep their hope alive. Katara certainly hoped she wasn't dense, but keeping hope alive was something she was rather fond of. What reasons were there then, for needing to lie to herself to hold onto hope? Katara drew a blank and tried another method; what reasons were there for _others_ to lie to themselves to hold onto hope? Well, love for one, maybe they had irrefutable evidence that their lover was cheating on them, but refused to believe it. Or maybe their brother was showing signs of cruelty and they couldn't let themselves believe it to be true. There were all sorts of reasons someone might lie to themselves about love. What else then? Hate. Someone might hate another to such a degree that even obvious good deeds would look tainted with vileness and lies. That was hardly hopeful though.

Katara sighed, she wasn't getting anywhere. She laid back, leaving her entire arm in the water, and stared up at the moon. The stone of the rim was uncomfortable against the back of her skull, and the brightness of the moon seemed almost to burn her eyes. The water was cold against her skin, although it was nothing she wasn't used to. The swirling currents caressed Katara's arm familiarly, reminding her of particularly weak tides. Coming and going, pushing and pulling. Strange that such a little fountain with just a few fish could be so active. Or maybe she was bending? She _was_ swirling her fingers a little. Katara forced her arm and hand to be still, letting it float. It felt good. She sat up and slid her entire body into the water, clothes and all.

The water caressed her body, and the moon kissed her face. For the first time in years, Katara truly felt at peace. She had felt happiness, contentment, joy, but not peace. Not like this. She floated there, her feet not even scraping the tile, letting the water move her body as it wanted.

She was the water. She was flexible and together, with all the time in the world to flow to where she wanted to be. And she wanted to be with Zuko. Her realization barely registered, it was as though she had known it all her life. She wanted to be with Zuko.

Katara smiled, it was a slight thing, but if anyone had looked closely at her face they would have seen something they had always been searching for.

Katara was drifting. Drifting…

Drifting…

Katara entered the Sunrise Courtyard cautiously the next morning. She had been awakened to the frantic screams of Lin, who had thought she was dead. The screams turned to tears of relief when Katara splashed out of the pool, but the poor hysterical girl had to be carted off by a very confused guard not long after that; she had fainted. Katara secretly wondered if it was the sea prune wrinkles that had really done the girl in, they did look rather disturbing (she even had them on her stomach). Katara had then jumped right back into a tub of water, this time hot, to give herself a thorough soaping. Even for a Water Bender, it was just too much water. Now she was steeling herself to face down too much fire.

Zuko had his back to her when Katara entered. He was staring at a wall so boring he could only be lost in thought. Then he turned.

"So, what was that all about?" Zuko asked, tense.

"The fountain thing?" Katara winced.

Zuko said nothing, waiting for Katara to explain herself.

"It was an accident, I was just floating, and I guess I fell asleep," Katara stated nervously.

"What?" Zuko looked genuinely surprised, "that's it?"

"Well, yes," Katara frowned, "what were you expecting? I thought you were mad because I scared half of your staff?" Katara looked at him for confirmation, confused.

"No, no, not that," Zuko shook his head, why did he look so relieved?

When he didn't elaborate Katara asked, "What were you mad about then?"

"I thought," Zuko started, then reddened, "It's stupid."

"What?" this wasn't going to be as awkward as last night's talk of an heir was it?

"I thought you might be, uh, unhappy," Zuko didn't seem to want to say any more.

Unhappy? "Wh- oh. Oh." Katara realized what he meant. He thought he'd driven her to suicide. "No, no no no, I'm not unhappy, it was just an accident," Katara rushed her speech, wanting to reassure him. "And actually, I wanted to talk to you about that, I was thinking last night, see-"

Zuko held up a hand, still red, and Katara cut herself off. They stood silently for an awkward moment, and then Zuko walked forward and put his arms around her. Katara was too surprised to do anything, which was alright since Zuko pulled back too quickly for any sort of reaction anyway.

"I thought, I really thought-" Zuko stopped himself.

"You knew I intended to marry you partially for the sake of peace," Katara grumbled, unused to seeing Zuko so expressive with anything but anger, "it'd really ruin that if I killed myself."

"Partially?" Zuko asked, and then forgot all about Katara's syntax, "It could have been murder as well. To have someone as well-loved as yourself murdered in my own palace would please many malcontents."

Katara rolled her eyes, then tried to stop any anti-marriage plans Zuko was thinking up, "except it _wasn't_ murder, it was just a Water Bender taking a nap."

"Fire Benders don't nap in a house fire, Earth Benders don't nap in a tomb, and Air Benders certainly don't nap in the sky," Zuko left the Water Bending analogy out. "You could have died, and it wouldn't have looked like a Water Bender just taking a nap." He seemed to have found something to be angry about; not for the first time Katara wondered if maybe Zuko had a problem with expressing himself. Anger had sort of been his thing when he'd been chasing the Avatar. But afterward? Once he joined up? He'd actually been pleasant. Of course, he had been constantly trying to win their approval, particularly _her_ approval. Why had he reverted back?

"And yet it was," Katara shrugged, "don't worry, I have no intention of doing that again. It's not an entirely pleasant way to get up in the morning." She kept her tone civil; he was right after all, letting herself fall asleep in the water was a dangerous thing to do. She had probably been bending in her sleep, at least a little, or she would have drowned. Maybe that was the influence of the full moon? But she could ponder that all she wanted later, she wanted to tell Zuko what she had realized last night.

"Zuko, I-" Katara started and was interrupted by footsteps. Three servants marched in and set up their breakfast table. Katara wanted privacy for what she intended to say, and waited. Zuko waited silently for the servants to leave as well. It was very awkward, and Katara could see the poor men sweating under their Regent's regard, knowing instinctively that their presence was unwanted. Of course that wasn't entirely true, Katara was starving. Swimming tended to make her hungry, and sleep swimming seemed no different. Anyone bringing food her way was automatically a friend.

Katara and Zuko sat down in silence when the servants fled, then Katara spoke, "I've got something to say, and it's important."

Zuko looked up sharply, ready for something bad, "what is it?"

Katara took a deep breath, and then let it right back out again, "I changed my mind." She didn't know how to tell him. How did someone go about saying they wanted to marry someone else? She'd been saying it over and over again, but this time she meant it. She was nervous, like she was standing in front of a crowd.

Zuko frowned, confused, "then it's not important?"

"Well, no," Katara squirmed, "It's important."

Zuko watched her closely. He seemed to have gone from angry to calm in ten seconds flat. Katara remembered that gaze, he'd used it before, it was as though he saw through her every move and into her soul. "Than what is it?" Zuko's tone was gentle, compelling.

Katara looked away from his very suddenly intense eyes. It didn't help much; just knowing that Zuko was still looking at her was enough to give her shivers. His very presence demanded a confession. But she wasn't ready. "Not yet, I don't know how to say it yet," Katara closed her eyes.

Zuko said nothing, and Katara sat, eyes closed, for what felt like eternity. It was a silly way to hide, keeping her eyes shut, but Katara couldn't bring herself to open them.

"I'll wait then," Zuko said quietly, "if it's something that can wait."

Katara opened her eyes, looking at the rim of the table. Could it wait? Surely a day or two to think about how to tell him wouldn't hurt. It wasn't as though she didn't intend to. "Soon. What I have to say will come soon," Katara said, then rushed, "and it's not bad."

Zuko let out a relieved breath and Katara looked up. Zuko had been surprisingly accepting of her decision not to say anything. If he had tried, he could have gotten anything he wanted out of her. Why was he not pushing? It seemed unlike him to yield to anyone.

"You know what else isn't bad?" Zuko smiled lightly.

Katara hesitated, "what?"

"A hot breakfast, let's eat before it gets cold."

**Author Note: Ohhhh, but this chapter gave me troubles. No need to bore you with how I've been busy, but damn! My business was boring! Unfortunately, when I'm very busy, I put nap time ahead of type time. Naturally I didn't spend very much time writing. (I feel like the whole story got jagged from writing only a few sentences and paragraphs here and there, like I had a different train of thought for everything.)**

**I really almost decided to let Katara confess, but it deviates too far from the master plan. Speaking of the master plan, unless I throw something extra in there, the main problem will fit perfectly into the next chapter. If everything goes the way I've been thinking, there will be two, maybe three, chapters after this, and then I'll say goodbye until the next time. Thank you for the favorites and reviews and all that nice stuff. You bring happy tears to my eyes. :,D**

**((((I promised myself I wouldn't ramble, but I've gotta say, I really left this one 'till the last minute. My two editors are leaving (one already left, one will leave tomorrow) for the summer. If I hadn't gotten one of them to read this earlier today, I would have waited to post until they got back. Either way, since they won't be here with me, I can guarantee my next post will be more than three weeks away (any farther and it's my own fault).))))**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: Oh man, I totally watched Titanic before/during some of the typing. I almost killed Zuko just from being so depressed (I'm sure I'll find it funny after a half hour or so…) I guess mass death and poignant music does that to me…**

**Next Day: Guess what I'm watching again? Titanic…It's like I don't ever learn…-click- Ok, maybe I have learned something.**

Breakfast that morning was a subdued affair. Zuko looked like he might be pitying her, but Katara couldn't really tell. Maybe it was just that newfound gentleness he had adopted only minutes before. Or maybe it was both, where did gentleness stem from, if not pity? People were only gentle about things that looked like they hurt.

Katara held in a sigh, forcing herself not to start pitying herself as well. What was there to pity? Nothing. Breakfast was good, the sun was warm at her back, and she was sitting with a friend. A friend she intended to marry, if she could just get the words past her tongue. Didn't the man usually propose? Katara almost let out another sigh, this time in frustration, Zuko _had_ already proposed, all she had to do was accept.

"Fire Lord," a slightly breathless servant entered halfway through their meal and bowed so that his forehead touched the floor.

"Mmm?" Zuko seemed to have been off in thought, and came back sluggishly into reality.

"General Iroh has decided to pay you a visit, Fire Lord, I couldn't keep him-"

"Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh appeared behind the servant, beaming.

Zuko stood rapidly, "Uncle." His eyes were round with excitement. Katara stood as well, surprised.

"Since when have you barred me from breakfast?" Iroh took on a hurt expression. Although he had never quite regained his old pudge, Iroh never quite let go of his appreciation for good food either.

"I wasn't expecting you, Uncle," Zuko embraced his uncle warmly, and then turned to the servant. "You may go, and in the future, when I ask not to be disturbed, family is exempt."

"Of course, Fire Lord," the servant stood and backed out of the courtyard, bowing. Katara found his obeisance a bit extreme, having seen no other servants kowtow on quite that level.

"Why didn't you send word you were coming?" Zuko asked, his surprise barely showing through his happiness as he turned his attention back to his uncle.

Suddenly Iroh grew serious, "because I rushed here as soon as I got the news," he looked at Katara.

Katara blushed, "news of the wedding?"

"Yes, among other things," Iroh looked pointedly at Zuko, who looked grimly back.

"Other things?" things Zuko and Iroh knew of, but not Katara?

"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Zuko smiled at her, thereby insuring that Katara grew concerned. She could ask Iroh later, he'd cave under the right pressure. Zuko would cave eventually, but she would cave first; he tended to have that effect on her.

"How's the tea shop?" Zuko returned the conversation to something safe.

"Wonderful," Iroh's happiness seemed to permeate the courtyard, "I found a lovely young lady to help make tea, she's taking care of the Jasmine Dragon while I'm away."

"Mei Hua?" Katara broke in, remembering the last time she had been through Ba Sing Se. It had been recently, not long before Zuko's proposal. Iroh and his new helper had a lot in common, between a penchant for tea and pai sho, although Mei Hua had a considerably dourer outlook on life. A little like Zuko, actually.

"Yes, Mei Hua," Iroh nodded, "She can brew the most delicate jasmine tea," he sighed happily, obviously remembering the sweet, flowery flavor.

Katara nodded and Zuko went on to his next question, "and the Earth King? Is he still having trouble with the remainder of the Dai Li?"

"Of course," Iroh shook his head sadly, and then his eyes took on a glint, "although they have been quiet lately."

Katara was about to ask about the small but powerful group when Iroh changed the subject, "Katara, before I left, I had news of your brother and grandfather."

"Oh?" Katara asked, puzzled. Her old Water Bending Master, Pakku, had finally married her grangran not long after the war. He and Sokka still didn't get along very well, but Katara knew they loved each other as well as is they were real grandfather and grandson.

"They are coming here, not right away, but soon," Iroh nodded.

"What?" Katara took Iroh's hand, "Really? How soon?" she was so excited it was hard to think. "Why both of them and not my dad? They'd never travel together, will dad be coming too? Will-"

"I don't know," Iroh waved his free hand around, denying intimate knowledge of Katara's family. "I only received word that Master Pakku and your brother were coming here before the next full moon."

A month? Katara dropped Iroh's hand, dejected. It had been a full moon the night before, why must she wait so long to see her family? If they left right away they could make it in a week, Pakku's Bending would speed them to the Fire Nation almost as fast as Appa could fly.

"There, now," Iroh noticed Katara's dejection and patted her shoulder, "I don't know when they'll be here, all I know is that they're organizing something first. Maybe they'll be here in a month, and maybe they'll be here tomorrow. There's no telling what the future holds."

Katara forced out a weak smile, and Iroh gave her a genuine one in return, then turned to Zuko. "So, I hear you will be having a feast tonight."

"Yes," Zuko didn't seem all that excited about it, "and we'll have to stand through whatever old Zongxian decides is an appropriate speech."

Iroh winced, "It is an honor that he would speak for Katara," he looked at her as he spoke.

"A great honor," Zuko sighed, "I didn't want to turn him down when he offered."

"Who is Zongxian?" Katara asked, picking up on the pained atmosphere.

"The High Priest of the Fire Temple," Zuko replied, "He's as old as the Fire Nation and prone to talking about his youth for hours on end."

"He doesn't like tea," Iroh sniffed, seemingly disgusted that anyone could be against tea.

"Right," Zuko may have added a little sarcasm to his addition. Then he smiled just a little, reassuringly, "we won't have to do anything but stand there, we're not expected to speak, although I suppose some people hold hands."

"I see," it'd be nice to hold hands, although Zuko probably wouldn't expect her to do so. Katara had been wondering if she'd be expected to do anything, it was a relief to know there wasn't anything to learn.

"There is the bow," Iroh commented, "don't forget that." Then he switched topics, "why don't we all sit down?" He smiled sweetly, darting a glance at the rapidly cooling food.

"Bow?" Katara asked, nervous, while following Iroh toward the table. At some point someone had slipped in with a spare set of flatware and it's accompaniments for Iroh.

Katara began to sit when Zuko stopped her, "It's the same as any bow, we face each other and bow for a count of seven. Here," He left her side and walked just far enough away that they wouldn't hit their heads together. "Ready?"

Katara nodded and Zuko bowed. She quickly followed suit, and stood straight just after he had finished his own bow.

"Once more, I'll count so we keep the same time," Zuko paused, "ready?"

"Yes," Katara replied out loud this time.

"Now," Zuko stated calmly, and they both bowed. He counted quietly to seven and this time they straightened together.

Zuko opened his mouth but was interrupted by Iroh's clapping, "perfect. You were meant for each other."

"Uncle," Zuko reddened just a little, "that's an old wives' tale."

"What is?" Katara sat down at her place.

"The perfect bow," Iroh began mysteriously, then lightened, "indicates the perfect match." He laughed, "Zuko is right of course, I remember my betrothal bow, and it was far from perfect."

"I heard about that," Zuko snickered, "weren't you allergic to something? You sneezed in her face."

Iroh turned a little red, but smiled, "ohhhh, whoever told you about that was a kind soul indeed, it was much worse. Half the court was certain it was an omen of such ill nature that one of us would be dead within the month. Hmph, it was a wonderful marriage, silly superstitions."

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I'd like to hold hands," Katara blurted suddenly, then added, "if you don't mind." She knew her cheeks were pink, but it was a small price to pay if she didn't have to stand in front of a crowd alone.

"Nervous, are you?" Iroh nodded sagely.

"Of course, Katara," Zuko nodded. His eyes betrayed nothing, but his knuckles went white around his soup spoon.

"You don't have to," Katara muttered nervously, picking up Zuko's unusual distress.

"No, it's fine," Zuko's smile was just a little off, "I'll lead you through it."

"Thank you," Katara replied awkwardly. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but didn't want to draw Iroh's attention to it if Zuko didn't want him to catch on.

Suddenly Iroh sniffed, "a niece," then he paused, realizing something, "A _sane_ niece. I am so happy for the both of you. True love is very important, and not everyone can find it."

Zuko and Katara both avoided looking at each other.

"Thank you," this time it was Zuko's turn to express an awkward thanks.

"No need to be shy about it," Iroh chided, noticing their discomfort. "Love is a beautiful thing."

Katara ignored the rest of the conversation, turning her thoughts inward. Love didn't seem so beautiful at the moment, it was confusing and awkward. Especially when she didn't know what Zuko was thinking. Katara hadn't let herself entertain the idea that he might love her in return, the likelihood seemed so small, and yet was rapidly becoming something she craved. She wanted to be loved in return. Katara didn't think she could bear it if she loved and married a man who didn't feel anything beyond a casual affection for her.

Could Zuko love her? He was the one who wanted the marriage first, and he had told her that he meant to marry for love. He had also told her that political marriages happened, and that love might not happen. Then again, he seemed to only want the marriage if love came first.

It was so frustrating, wondering whether or not Zuko would give her the affection she craved, seemingly a side effect of falling in love. There was just no good way to tell without asking. But didn't he want her to love him? If her own experiences were any example, wanting to be loved came _after_ falling in love. But that was only one possibility, more likely he wanted someone who would love him as Mai had. Why had they split it off anyway? Katara glanced at Zuko, only to find him frowning at her.

"Is something wrong?" Katara asked, surprised.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, we addressed you four times," Zuko replied.

"Oh," Katara looked away, "I'm fine, just a little tired." Actually she was wide awake, but there was no need to tell him of her thoughts.

Zuko's frown deepened, "then perhaps you should rest, I can't imagine last night as restful for you."

"Last night?" Iroh asked, suddenly serious, "what happened last night?"

Zuko looked at Katara, who refrained from speaking, and then back at his uncle. "Last night Katara fell asleep in a fountain."

Katara spent the next few minutes listening to Zuko's perspective of her night, and ignoring Iroh's looks.

"Yes, well," she interrupted when Zuko seemed to be finished, "I really am tired, do you mind?" She stood up.

"No, no, go and rest dear," Iroh stood up as well, and then Zuko.

"I'll have someone wake you when Chun Hua gets here with your robe," Zuko bowed, "can you find your way back to your rooms?"

"Yes, thank you," Katara bowed and left. Now what would she do? She felt well rested, but didn't want to get in Zuko's way, not when he was telling stories on her. Besides, he and his uncle probably wanted some alone time, they could chat about whatever secrets had brought Iroh to the Fire Nation. Then, once they'd forgotten her sleeping arrangements and had their speech and come to their conclusions, she'd waltz back into their lives. Until then, well, she'd find something.

Katara found her rooms readily enough, but didn't stay long. She snatched up the exhibition Fire Bending scroll from the small table someone had placed it on, and took off to find the crispy courtyard. Katara tried to retrace her steps exactly, and managed to find herself in the unused corridor, unsure of where to go next. She had run from the very room in front of her, which, oddly enough, was open.

Now why would that be? Katara crept forward and peered through the opening, uneasy. The room was empty of all but shelves and dust. The green bundles were gone. Feeling braver at the lack of reason to keep out, never mind the lack of reason to enter, Katara allowed herself to slip inside, looking for a clue as to what had been inside. She was disappointed.

No sooner had Katara decided to leave than she stumbled over something.

"What?" Katara bent to look at the small object. Stones. A small bag of stones. For a slingshot perhaps? Did Zuko's warriors use slingshots? Feeling a bit guilty, but following the mindset of finders keepers, Katara took one of the stones, she'd ask Zuko about it later. Katara almost giggled, she waited to speak with Zuko about quite a lot of things.

Katara was reaching to place the stone in her pocket when it slipped through her fingers and hit the floor with a flash.

A flash?

A small fire was rapidly growing larger on the rug beneath Katara's feet. It didn't take any effort at all to put it out, but the shock left her staring wide-eyed at the char for quite some time. Or what she could see of the char anyway, her vision had gone white and was slow in returning. That was no rock.

Cautiously, her adrenaline not quite settled back to normal levels, Katara bent to take a closer look at the fire stones. They were dark and almost perfectly round. There were no seams, which seemed odd since her first thought was that there was gunpowder inside. They were fairly heavy, and pinching them between her palms didn't force them to give way. Very odd, since landing on carpet from a few feet up managed to break them. Definitely something to ask Zuko about.

Katara picked up the entire pouch and laced it firmly shut, carefully tying it to her belt. Worry about jostling them kept her pace slow as she carefully picked a direction and followed it.

It seemed silly for Fire Benders to use fire stones, although Katara knew the entire army couldn't be made up of Fire Benders. It might be reasonable for the section of the military that couldn't bend fire to their will to use something else, although storing it in the middle of the palace seemed like an odd idea. The palace quartermaster surely couldn't have that much trouble finding space?

Unfortunately, Katara arrived at the crispy courtyard without having paid any attention to where she was going. She sighed in frustration, glad to have reached her destination, and annoyed that she had allowed herself to be distracted from the journey.

Katara entered the courtyard with more excitement than she had shown upon arriving outside, intent upon teaching herself exhibition Water Bending. She placed the fire rocks in a corner and pulled out the scroll she had borrowed from Zuko's limited library.

First, Katara moved exactly as the scroll indicated, trying three times before deciding that luck was not on her side, and she'd have to do a little thinking. Then she created a small swirling ball of water above her palm, hoping to use it as her base. Obviously she could send it around the entire courtyard in a fishlike manner if she so chose, but how to actually shape it into a fish? The scroll indicated some very delicate finger movements and a surprising fluidity of wrist for the details. It wasn't unlike anything she'd ever done; she played her fingers through water in a similar fashion all the time.

It didn't take long for Katara to manage an admittedly sloppy fish, which she duplicated a few more times until the fins were an appropriate size and scales began to show up. She was quite proud of her achievement, as fire fish didn't even have scales.

Next Katara set to creating a much larger fish, shifting her movements up a joint to provide strength. The fingers became the wrist, the wrist the elbow, and so on. She started at her base, this time with quite a lot of water, and moved from there. She needed her fingers for the detail work, but other than that, moving everything up a joint had been a good idea. Naturally, it took her a few tries, but soon enough there was a giant fish swimming about the courtyard.

Could she create two at a time? Perhaps a separating motion with the arms? No, that was likely to send the fish splashing down over the large burn mark it currently hovered above. Could she create both at the same time then? In all likelihood she could manage it if she had the patience to learn to create one fish with stronger mental influence. Complete mastery of the one would lead eventually to the mastery of two.

Katara sighed, while it would be fun to get two going at the same time, it wasn't a technique she really needed. Nevertheless, she set out to learn the shortcuts for the smallest fish.

Time passed by quickly, leaving Katara to her efforts undisturbed until, very suddenly, a fire fish joined her own. She had been sending it in small circles, getting it to move as she pleased with only the smallest of finger twitches. She nearly dropped her fish in surprise, but instead let it swim through the air in a circle with Zuko's fish until he snuffed his flame. Katara sent her fish back to the water and turned to face Zuko, who leaned casually against the door. When had he come in? She hadn't heard him at all, and the hinges were not as well oiled as they perhaps could have been.

"Tired, huh?" Zuko's voice flirted with sarcasm, although managing to sound just normal enough that it might have been a polite remark.

Katara was lost for a moment, then reddened, her excuse for leaving breakfast would seem rather weak upon his discovering her in a training yard.

"A bit, yes," Katara managed to reply, sending Zuko an apologetic smile, recognizing that she had been caught.

"Chun Hua awaits you in your chambers," Zuko plowed right through to the next subject, "I'll escort you there if you'd like."

Was it just her, or was Katara suddenly being babysat?

"Please, I'm still not altogether sure where my rooms are from here," Katara picked up the scroll and bowed, as did Zuko. Katara discreetly bent her sweat away, and they left together, arm in arm.

They had just turned the first corner when Katara remembered the fire stones, "wait, I left something I meant to show you in the courtyard." She immediately yanked her arm free and jogged back to the courtyard, followed closely by Zuko.

"What is it? The fish?" Zuko asked, confused, "I saw that already."

"No," Katara ran to the corner where she had left the small green bag of rocks and brought them back to Zuko. "I found these in the palace, in an unused corridor," in a forbidden room, "they create a fire when thrown to the ground. Here, close your eyes," Katara demonstrated the very bright ability of the stones and opened her own eyes, pointing to a newly charred piece of courtyard. "What are they?"

Katara looked at Zuko questioningly and found him very pale. It also appeared that he had not closed his eyes, as he was blinking rapidly and swaying a bit from the dizzying flash.

"W-where, _exactly_, did you find this?" Zuko's voice managed deadly and dizzy at the same time.

Uh oh, the room really must have been off limits. "Well, like I said, in an unused section of the palace, a very dusty place, only a few of the wall lamps were lit. I found it while exploring," Katara stuttered, rushing her speech.

Zuko closed his eyes, whether from the nasty visual experience he was sure to be having or from some sort of strong emotion, Katara couldn't tell. "I know the place."

Was she in trouble?

"The flash bombs, please," Zuko held out his hand.

So they were called flash bombs? A suitable name. Katara handed the flash bombs over without a complaint and Zuko tucked them into his belt.

Zuko and Katara both partook of an awkward silence for a while, then Zuko broke it, "Chun Hua is waiting."

"What?" Was that all he was going to say? He was going to turn pale and panic over his guard leaving flash bombs in the palace, and then tell her nothing but that she ought to make sure her robes fit properly?

"Chun Hua is waiting," Zuko repeated more firmly, looking at her coldly.

Katara didn't know what she had done to merit such an uncivil look, and did something she would forever be ashamed of, she avoided confrontation, "then let's go."

As Zuko led her from the courtyard, Katara inwardly berated herself. Even if she had been somewhere she shouldn't have been Zuko hadn't ever mentioned anyplace that was off limits to her. He shouldn't have been so angry, and even if he was only being a bit cold, Katara knew there was a rage just below the surface. She had never been afraid to confront him before. Why now was his displeasure something she wanted to avoid? Why now could she not stand the thought of his being angry with her? Zuko was angry anyway, what would a little more hurt? Why was she so afraid?

Afraid. But she wasn't afraid of Zuko. Katara loved him. Maybe that was it? She wanted him to love her too, and anger certainly wasn't an encouraging feeling.

But his anger was unjust, what sort of coward was she, to timidly ignore something when only a year ago she would have fought until it was corrected? Katara felt so despicable, hiding in such a way. She seemed only to keep hiding things. Hiding her anger at Zuko's unjust coldness, hiding her love for him, hiding, hiding, hiding.

Before long, Katara found herself being bowed to at her doorway. Almost before she had bowed back, Zuko had started off on a light jog down the hallway. It stung that he wouldn't even stay with her until she had entered her rooms, but she hid her feelings and entered.

Chun Hua and Jun were both chatting when Katara entered. She hardly had time to wonder why no one had fetched a chair for such an old woman as Chun Hua when she happened to glance at what was obviously her robe, resting on a particularly long tapestry pole designed for such things.

"Oh," Katara gasped under her breath as the two women bowed to her. It was beautifully painted with a lotus pattern in varying shades of blue. The dye was so light in some places that Katara could barely tell it was there, and in others dark enough to be black.

"Good, you're here," Chun Hua wasted no time in pleasantries, as abrupt as when Katara had first met her, "let's make sure everything fits, we've only until just after lunch before you'll need to be wearing it in public."

Only until then? That seemed so soon. Katara yanked off most of her clothing quickly, as if the few extra seconds it would create would matter.

There was almost complete silence while Jun and Chun Hua helped Katara into the layers of the robe, and what little talking took place had mostly to do with whether Chun Hua would have the honor of sewing the wedding robe as well. Katara suspected that she would be getting her wedding robe from Chun Hua, but had no answer as to when the wedding would be, and wished heartily that Zuko was the one being questioned.

Zuko. Katara sighed, wondering when she would be forgiven for whatever it was that she had done. Then frowned, she didn't need to be forgiven; she ought to be setting things straight with him, not wishing he'd just forget about it.

"What's wrong, dear?" Chun Hua interrupted Katara's thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," Katara smiled weakly, "just nervous."

Chun Hua nodded, "naturally," and stepped back, looking Katara over with a critical eye before turning to Jun, "have we the shoes she'll be wearing? I'd like to see their relation to the hem; this may be a tad long."

Jun took a pair of slippers out of a drawer and Chun Hua immediately threw up her hands in exasperation, "two inches then, no need to see how those will look."

Katara looked closely at the slippers, then at Jun, frowning, "wont those wear out?"

"The soles are leather, Lady Katara they'll last for some time," Jun bowed and offered the shoes for her inspection.

Katara took the slippers from Jun and felt the various fabrics. The soles were leather all right, but the rest felt suspiciously thin. They'd last the night at least.

Katara handed back the shoes and slipped out of everything, putting her own clothing back on.

"You needn't stay for this, we'll just fix up the hem a bit and find you when it's done, dear," Chun Hua dismissed Katara from her own rooms, and Katara, too surprised for much else, exited her room in favor of the courtyard.

Katara wondered if she should feel insulted that Chun Hua was the one in charge when she was the one marrying into royalty, but as she felt no actual offense, Katara dropped it. Azula might have been insulted. Katara grinned, imagining Chun Hua dictating Azula's life, then frowned, confused. Where was the noise she had grown accustomed to?

Where was the light splashing? Where was the mist?

The water was gone.

Katara gasped, the entire fountain was empty. She briefly wondered if the fish were all right, then moved onto another thought. Zuko was in trouble, and nothing was going to save him from her wrath.

**Author Note: Uh oh! Trouble in paradise! There'll be a nice big yellfest in the next chapter. You may have noticed, I did **_**not**_** include the main plot twist in this chapter. Congrats, I've been convinced that a longer story is a better story, and even though it's tempting, I shall not end everything a chapter or two after the betrothal shindig. You'll have to forgive me for being slow though, and rest easier in the knowledge that I refuse to be one of those authors who doesn't finish a story. (Grrrr, it's always the good ones too!)**

**Also, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is probably the most amazing book out there. Read it or never understand the meaning of life. Your choice.**


	6. Chapter 6

Katara managed to hold off her showdown with Zuko, spending her time awaiting the hemming of her robe productively, pulling as much moisture from the air as she dared to fill in her fountain. By the time she was thinking about searching for her fish, Jun summoned her in to try the robe on once more. It fit perfectly of course, and then Katara was further distracted from confronting Zuko by taking a bath. She truly didn't need one, but Jun had insisted. Then she was dressed in the white shift and a temporary over robe and escorted by Jun to the Jade Room. Still her confrontation was put off by Iroh, who had joined them for lunch. He must have been pretending that nothing was wrong, because Katara knew she didn't look happy, and Zuko spent the entire time brooding, saying nothing unless spoken to, and then answering as minimally as possible.

When the time came to leave, Iroh finally said something to Zuko regarding the atmosphere, "Don't be nervous, the guard is more than doubled, and I will keep a careful watch." He then smiled at Katara, who had no time to ask about the guard because she was being escorted out by Jun.

Katara was seething while Jun did her makeup and hair, and kept being alternately scolded for frowning and offered comfort for her nervousness. Little did Jun know, Katara wasn't thinking about the betrothal. She was thinking about Zuko. Who did he think he was? Keeping her out of the loop, being angry at her, emptying her fountain; Katara was sorely tempted to administer a good strangling. Every time her peaceful side reared its head and suggested that she must be mistaken about the severity of Zuko's crimes, she crushed it down with her negativity. He'd have to do some pretty serious apologizing if he ever wanted her forgiveness.

"It's almost time," Jun informed Katara, touching up with a last bit of kohl.

Katara only nodded.

"Chun Hua?" Katara heard Lin mutter behind her and wondered when she had entered.

"Yes, dear?" Chun Hua asked.

"Zuko tore his sleeve and-"

"Ah!" Chun Hua exclaimed, "That boy, he is too rough with his garments. Take me to him then."

If Katara hadn't been inclined to sour at the mention of Zuko, she might have smiled at how much of a cranky grandmother figure Chun Hua pulled off with the royal family.

Jun began helping Katara into her costume soon after Chun Hua's departure, and tried once again to start a conversation, "it will be a sunny day, most would take that as a good sign."

Katara bit her lip, then decided it would be best to speak, "a good sign?"

"It is silly superstition, but the announcement of the betrothal is always analyzed carefully for any hint that something isn't right, Lady Katara," Jun helped Katara into the next layer.

"Yes," Katara supplied reluctantly, "I was told about the bow." Was it just her, or was Jun more talkative than usual?

"The bow, the weather, the food, the guests, everything is under scrutiny, Lady Katara, especially the couple," Jun nodded.

"But won't Zuko and I stay out of the public eye most of the time?" Katara asked, confused.

"During the feast, yes, but your representative is Zongxian, Lady Katara. He will make a very long speech, and you will have to stand through it." Was Jun showing emotion? She looked slightly pained to Katara.

"I believe that was mentioned to me, but that's all I have to do right? Stand and bow on cue?"

"That is not wrong, Lady Katara, but if you'll forgive my saying so, the Fire Lord doesn't care very much for the intricacies of the court. He would not have mentioned that all but the most minor fidgeting is looked on as an ill omen, or that there is a particular stance to be held," Jun finished putting Katara's clothing to rights and stepped back.

No fidgeting? Well, forbidding it was probably the best way of insuring it.

"Stance?" Katara asked, becoming steadily more concerned about her image and less concerned about how little she liked Zuko right then.

"Like this, Lady Katara," Jun stood with her feet a few inches apart, completely straight through the spine, and folded her hands together beneath her sleeves.

"But aren't we supposed to hold hands?" Katara blurted before realizing that she did not want to hold hands with Zuko any longer.

Jun's eyes lit up, "absolutely, I am so pleased you intend to hold the Fire Lord's hand, and I assure you the rest of the crowd will be too, Lady Katara. Let your right hand rest at your side then, and leave your left in the Fire Lord's care."

Katara silently berated herself for her slipup, now there were at least two people expecting her to show some affection for Zuko. Zuko would likely take it for what it first was, nervousness. Katara ignored the fact that her first reason for wanting to hold his hand had been a desire for affection, which wasn't hard considering the low level of affection she currently held for Zuko.

"Is everything all right, Lady Katara?" Jun asked, concerned about her future Fire Lady's expression. Had Katara been Azula, Jun would have avoided her at all costs.

"Of course, I'm just very nervous," Katara forced herself to smile. It was a weak excuse, but Jun only nodded.

"Shall we go, Lady Katara?" Jun asked, showing neither sympathy for Katara's nerves nor displeasure over Katara's lie, merely the ambivalent expression of a servant. Katara found her sudden perfect-servant attitude odd after her newly helpful one, but didn't comment.

Jun led Katara to a midsized anteroom off of the large courtyard and left her there. Now that Katara was alone, she allowed herself a silent scream of rage and, feeling very slightly better, settled onto a chair to worry about standing in front of the Fire Nation. She knew from experience that priests and nobles were given as much space as they wanted at the head of the crowd, and that the common people would pile in behind. The courtyard could hold half the city if enough people decided to crush themselves within the great doors.

What if she wasn't well liked by the people? Katara crushed that thought down; she knew that the marriage of a Fire Lord to a Water Bender wasn't exactly the norm, and that a large minority would disapprove simply because of her lineage. The Fire Nation was made up of four types of people- those that accepted that the other Nations were not the enemy simply because they were easily brainwashed, those that accepted that the other Nations were not the enemy because they were _not_ easily brainwashed, and those that were very, _very_ confused about the whole subject. A very few people were neither confused, nor happy with the new peace, and Katara was thoroughly disgusted by their blatant greed; they had all been in a position to profit from the war. It was the confused ones she'd have to worry about.

The confused ones realized they had been duped in some way, but were emotionally attached to their previous attitude. In a way Katara pitied them, they had spent their entire lives believing a lie, and when the truth finally came out, they had developed what was almost Stockholm Syndrome.

"Katara," Zuko entered the anteroom, bowing.

"Zuko," Katara accentuated her frostiness by refusing to bow back.

"Katara, this doesn't mean anything," Zuko didn't seem to notice her lack of manners. "Even after we're betrothed in the eyes of the Nation, you can still back out anytime you want to."

Katara could have hit him, she really could have, but instead clenched her teeth and ground out, "thank you for your consideration." They were about to stand in front of a large crowd, and as much as she wanted to start a fight, Katara forced herself not to. There would be plenty of time for hitting and yelling later, after all the excitement had ceased for the night.

At that point, Zuko noticed her mood and thoroughly mistook it, "I mean it, Katara I know you're tired of hearing it, but I will _never_ force you into a marriage."

Zuko's concern was wasted on Katara, who only managed to become angrier at the prince. If he didn't shut it soon, she really would break into a rage before scheduled. However, her self control held and her reply was, "when do we bow?"

"After Zongxian finishes speaking," Zuko looked curiously at Katara, who usually argued as opposed to changing the subject.

Katara nodded, "and then what?"

"We stand before the people briefly, and then leave. I'll lead, you have nothing to worry about," Zuko waved his hand in a worry-negating manner.

Katara nodded again and kept speaking, "when do we go out?" In part, Katara really was worried about the betrothal ceremony, but she also knew she had to keep the topics neutral enough to put off the inevitable argument.

"Whenever we want, nothing can start without us," Zuko smiled a little.

Katara frowned and Zuko elaborated, "We wait until we hear cheering, which means we've been announced, and then we make our entrance."

"I see," Katara murmured, desperately trying to think of more questions. She knew she'd have a million the second she walked through the doors, but at the moment she had nothing to say. Then she remembered something, "why is the guard doubled?"

Zuko frowned, "for your protection."

Well, that was glaringly obvious, "yes, but what are you expecting?"

"Nothing," Zuko looked entirely too innocent.

Then a thought struck Katara, "we will be hearing cheers, right? Not silence, or rioting-"

"Oh no. We'll hear cheers," Zuko cut in, "if I thought we wouldn't, we'd be having our betrothal somewhere considerably more fortified. The Tower of Imperial Decree or the Fire Temple Spires for instance."

"Fire Lord Zuko, Lady Katara," a servant entered and bowed, "it is nearly time."

"Thank you," Zuko sighed and offered his hand to Katara, "shall we?"

Katara took his hand reluctantly and allowed herself to be led to the great doors that would open on the courtyard.

Zuko's hand was warm. It felt nice, rough enough to admit to his skill in combat, and soft enough to prove his nobility. It was the hand she wanted to hold for the rest of her life. Katara stopped herself from enjoying the feeling of Zuko's hand in hers, forcibly reminding herself of his distrust of her, his secrets, his stupid need to wield authority, anything and everything that was even remotely wrong with him. Katara successfully began to feel anger at him just in time for two servants to run up and grab the handles on the great doors.

Everything went fast from there, she had hardly been standing with Zuko two seconds before a roar could be heard, muffled through the doors which swung open a moment later to reveal an earsplitting amount of noise. The courtyard was apparently standing room only, and as Zuko led her forward everyone bowed as best they could while packed as thick as trampled snow. Very few managed to perform the complete Fire Nation bow and had to settle for staying on their feet. The adrenaline from being watched by so many eyes made Katara giddy, although she wasn't as bothered by it as she knew some people were. Sokka was likely to faint or something in front of a crowd, although in an emergency he was the guy to have.

Zuko brought Katara forward and stopped well before reaching the crowd. Soon enough a throaty "ahem" could be heard from their left and Katara peeked over at a very old man. He was dressed in the robes of a Fire Priest, and despite his obvious age, his spine was straight and his voice strong. His throat clearing seemed to be the signal for everyone to stand up straight and look upon Katara, because that was exactly what happened. Everyone looked at Katara. She was rapidly beginning to feel sorry for Sokka when the old man spoke again.

"We are here today to rejoice in the betrothal of our great Fire Lord Zuko to the beautiful princess of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara," the old man began solemnly.

Since when was she a princess? Katara almost opened her mouth to argue, but remembered in time not to say anything. Zuko squeezed her hand, probably sensing her ruffled feathers, but didn't say anything either.

What followed were exaggerations about Katara's life that were so extreme they were almost lies. Her wisdom and strength were touched upon, her beauty, her healing, her affiliation with the Avatar. Apparently she and Zuko were both greatly in love and had been since their travels together to end the injustice of the Great War. Zongxian mentioned her nobility for what felt like hours and her kindness for what must have been days. Her value as a warrior should a war arise and her value as a key piece in an alliance with the Water Tribes were also touched upon at great length.

By the end the sun had moved a long ways through the sky, Katara's feet were about to rot off, and she was quite certain she would never get over the shock and embarrassment of being oversold to her future subjects. From her little glances at Zuko, Katara concluded that he was faring somewhat better. He remained alert throughout the torturous speech, constantly scanning the crowd and never losing his rigid military posture.

Suddenly Zongxian stopped speaking and Zuko let go of Katara's hand, which didn't do much since she was still gripping his. She looked to him curiously and he raised an eyebrow. Was he mocking her? Somewhere in the back of her head Katara knew she was just cranky from having to listen to Zongxian lie about her, and that Zuko would never go so far as to mock her (at least not while they were allies). But instead of listening to her inner reason, she added yet another black mark to Zuko's growing tally of faults.

It did not take Katara very long to remember the bow, and she let go of Zuko's hand. They both stepped back and the crowd started cheering. Zuko mouthed "now" and together they bent forward. Katara silently counted to seven and rose at exactly the moment Zuko did. She thought to herself briefly about the perfect bow for the imperfect marriage, and took Zuko's hand again when he reached for hers.

This time Zuko led Katara back into the anteroom where they both collapsed onto elaborate chairs with sighs of relief.

Katara pulled some water from the air to heal her aching feet, groaning as the pain slowly worked itself away. She noticed Zuko looking jealously at her, but felt inclined to let his feet hurt and ignored him.

Zuko seemed to notice her lack of warmth and waited for her to finish her healing before asking, "You're mad at me?"

"Yes," Katara looked frostily at him, wondering if now was the time to put him in his place.

"I'm sorry about Zongxian, I know he's a bit, um," Zuko struggled for a word.

"Ridiculous," Katara supplied, growing angrier that he could only think of Zongxian to be sorry for.

Zuko sighed, seemingly not changing the subject so much as mentioning something important, "the feast can't start until we arrive."

Katara couldn't deny that she was hungry and stood up. Zuko would have to wait to feel her full wrath.

"I hate ceremonies," Zuko and Katara both sighed at the same time. Zuko smiled a little at her, but Katara just frowned and he closed right back up again.

They both looked away from each other and Zuko stood up, wincing in discomfort. Katara felt a slight satisfaction at his pain, probably made worse by his disgustingly tight Fire Nation boots.

"Which entrance do we use?" Katara asked, standing with no problem.

"The one you didn't notice," Zuko chuckled, making another attempt to bring Katara out of her funk.

It didn't work, "are you saying something about my eyes?" She hadn't noticed a door?

"No, Katara," Zuko looked shocked, "what's wrong? You aren't normally this…" he couldn't find a word and threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

Katara just glared at him, and then abruptly strode out. Zuko followed quickly, taking the lead. He didn't speak, but his worry was obvious in his backward glances. He brought Katara to a small hallway with only two doors. However, instead of using one of them, he found a hidden doorway set into a piece of wall that was very slightly discolored. He knocked once and it opened to reveal a serving man, who bowed and got out of the way. Zuko looked at Katara to go first.

Katara was almost grumpy enough to show it in front of the palace staff, but reined it in and stepped resignedly through the door. She found herself behind the sheer veils of the dining hall, made opaque by the many layers of fabric. The lighting was such that she could see the guests with relative ease, but they would have a hard time seeing more than her outline. Zuko stepped through the door behind her and a gong rang out. Every guest stood and bowed. Zuko waved at a man in the opposite corner who waved at another servant through the curtain and the gong was rung again, signaling for everyone to stand.

Once Zuko and Katara had found their seats, the gong rang once more and everyone sat. Gradually, conversations between the nobles began to fill the air, while Katara and Zuko remained silent.

"I would speak with you after this is over," Katara mumbled, breaking the silence without looking at Zuko.

"I see," Zuko replied cautiously, catching on that whatever was worrying her was something she needed time and privacy to fight with him over. He began to sweat a little, wondering what exactly he had been doing wrong, when the first course arrived.

------------------

"Zuko," Katara ground out when he had closed the door on the small, dimly lit room they had found after leaving the dining hall.

Zuko sighed and turned, his stance wary and his face tired.

"What is wrong with you?" Katara began in what was not quite a shouting voice.

"I don't know," Zuko replied calmly, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. He failed.

"How can you not?" Katara moved on to shouting, "who do you think I am? A child perhaps?"

"What?" Zuko exclaimed, shocked, "why would I think that?"

"How should I know? It's _you_ who seems to think it important to protect me from _water_," Katara was furious.

Zuko was silent.

"I can't seem to do anything without you to babysit me. No wandering, no entering certain hallways, no hearing about why Iroh really came. You _never_ treated me this way when we traveled together. Your respect for me as a person impressed me. My gender and my mistakes were never anything you blamed me for, unlike so many others. I was someone to be respected, and now I'm someone to be kept in the dark and treated without any concession to my humanity," Katara raved.

Zuko was growing steadily paler as Katara yelled, but didn't interrupt her.

"You're always mad about _something_, and you're always doing things without my knowledge. You practically _sent me to my room_ and then freaked when I, a grown woman, decided to play with water instead. And then when I gave you the flash bombs you about had an apoplexy and wouldn't say a thing about it. Why the hell would you be mad at me for finding flash bombs that _you_ put in the palace in the first place? Then, oh this is the best part, you _drained my fountain_ because I took a little nap in the water. Obviously my sleeping there didn't harm me in the least, but did that matter to you? You're a control freak, you've changed from the man I used to know into someone who can't live without getting his way," Katara stopped for breath.

"Please, Katara, that's not-" Zuko started weakly.

"Oh shut up," Katara looked at him in utter disgust. "You ask me to marry you to save your country, and then when I agree, you suddenly decide that you can't marry me unless I love you? Unless you love me? You like to appear like a reasonable person, but once anyone gets close it's easy to see who you really are. You are a child with no integrity who can't accept anything you haven't managed to engineer yourself."

"Katara, listen-" Zuko was cut off.

"And what sort of betrothal ceremony was that? I stood for hours listening to a man I'd never met lie about me to a crowd who expected that I not fidget even a little. The entire ordeal was humiliating. Then we ate a meal that was not private enough to be talked during, and not public enough to be any fun at all," Katara waved her arms about, trying to express the extent of her culture shock.

Zuko didn't appear offended, although he was certainly upset, "Katara, no, that's not what I was trying to do. Please listen to me; I'm sorry about all that, everything, just let me explain."

Katara snorted, "Oh, you can try." She had learned to let others explain themselves over the years. She was already prejudiced against Zuko, but she had been prejudiced against him in the past and it had come to nothing. Katara didn't see how she could be wrong, but she knew she wasn't always right, and that knowledge was just enough to keep her from storming off to the South Pole right then and there.

Zuko took a breath, then said, "please don't say anything. I'm going to explain." He looked at Katara imploringly.

Katara replied with a withering glare, but said nothing.

Zuko took another breath, "I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I," Zuko looked like he was going to choke, "I was afraid for your safety."

Katara let her stance relax just a little. She was very slightly insulted that he thought her in need of protecting, but Zuko had picked his first words well enough that she wasn't entertaining the thought of leaving.

"I realize that you," Zuko seemed to struggle for the right word, "that you are not a child, not someone who needs my protection, but it was hard for me not to try, because," he trailed off and picked up elsewhere, "when you fell asleep in the fountain, I was so afraid that," he trailed off again.

"Is this it? Is this all you can say for yourself?" Katara broke her silence, angry at his lack of actual explanation.

"No." Zuko nearly shouted with his need to keep her there, "I just, I never," he thought briefly about what he wanted to say, "I don't want to pressure you into marrying me or-"

"You drained my fountain so that I wouldn't marry you?" Katara sounded as angry as she'd ever been, but something inside of her started crying.

"No." Zuko nearly shouted again, then put his head in his hands and muttered, "I'm not saying this right." He took another deep breath and started again, "I drained your fountain because I was afraid for you. I know I was being stupid, it'll be filled again by this time tomorrow, it was wrong of me and I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get hurt. That sounds stupid, it is stupid, but it's the truth. I'm sorry" Zuko looked away. The next time he spoke it was a new subject, "the real reason my uncle came is because he received information from the White Lotus that there would be an attack," the next part was mumbled too quietly for Katara to hear.

"What?" Katara knew she was about to find something else to be angry about.

"An attack," Zuko paused, still not looking at her, "here. It was supposed to be tonight. I don't know why they didn't try to kill us, they're a new group, and were supposed to have had everything organized around tonight. We know little else, although a warning from the White Lotus is not something to be ignored."

"Which group?" Katara asked through clenched teeth. Zuko had kept something as big as _this_ from her?

"The Lao Hu group" Zuko replied, then added rapid-fire, "Not telling you was stupid too. I thought I could take care of it, I was wrong, and I'm so, so sorry."

Was his voice cracking? "You hid," Katara could barely choke it out, "you hid from me, an attack that was _aimed_ at me?"

"It was aimed at me," Zuko tried weakly.

"On _our_ betrothal," Katara added ruthlessly.

"Yes, on our betrothal," Zuko sounded utterly defeated, then added, "the flash bombs you found were theirs. They obviously have a way into the palace, and have been waiting for their moment."

Suddenly Katara felt guilty. There hadn't been any forbidden corridors, and in keeping silent about being someplace she thought _might_ be forbidden, she had inadvertently allowed the Lao Hu to keep safely within the palace. Zuko had never intended for parts of the palace to be hidden from her.

"I wanted to protect you," Zuko was now turned completely away from Katara, but his tone conveyed deep regret, and Katara suspected he wasn't properly composed.

"I," Katara started, "I should have told you. I found the room with the flash bombs well before then. Everything was moved when I returned. I overheard men talking, saying that locks would keep people out, and I thought I wasn't supposed to be there."

Zuko remained facing away, but suddenly his voice had a lot more strength, more anger, "you were in the presence of the Lao Hu?"

"I'm sorry, I should have told you," Katara apologized, then bristled, "why are you always angry at me?" She forgot that Zuko hadn't really been angry at her until that point.

"I am not angry at you," Zuko ground out, "I am angry at myself for not protecting you." He turned, and in the darkness Katara couldn't tell if he had been crying. "In my own home, you almost drowned, you were almost discovered and killed by rebels, and you are unable to find any semblance of happiness."

Had she yelled at Zuko about happiness, or had he already been worrying about it all on his own? Katara couldn't remember. "I can protect myself, I don't need you to be there all the time," Katara's voice rose ever so slightly.

"But I need-" Zuko cut himself off, obviously trying not to let whatever emotions were running amok in his head control his speech.

"Need what?" Katara wondered if he was about to reveal another thing to be angry about.

"Nothing," Zuko looked away yet again.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" Katara burst out, her guilt washed away by anger, and her readiness to forgive washed away by her need to know what was going on. "You're one big mass of secrets, most of which seem to affect _me_."

"I can't tell you-" Zuko started.

Katara absolutely exploded, "_you_ can't tell _me_? You can't seem to tell me anything. What kind of marriage do you expect to have? One where I do nothing but sit locked in my room making children and looking pretty?"

Zuko looked absolutely shocked by her question, but Katara gave him no chance to butt in.

"That buffoon you brought in to sell me to your people? He all but said that I would be perfect for just such a life. Is this what you want? Why did you ask me here anyway? Why did you ask _me_ to marry you, and then tell me you refused to do so? What the hell to you want from me?"

"Katara," Zuko reached forward, then dropped his hand before he could touch her "I had no say in what Zongxian said, or he would have dragged on for years, and all of your praises would be truths."

Katara stood in shocked silence while Zuko continued.

"I would only ever want for you to be _you_, not some woman I married for children or for political reasons," Zuko said very seriously. "And I want you to marry me for _me_, and not for children or for political reasons."

"But we _are_ getting married for political reasons," Katara was exasperated, "and you never mentioned love in your proposal letter."

"I didn't think I needed it," Zuko frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, probably getting a headache.

Katara ignored the love subject in favor of another and all but shouted, "What are you still not telling me? Your explanations for everything you did are far from satisfactory, you're leaving things out, I can tell."

"I can't tell you, it would be wrong," Zuko looked miserable.

"You can't tell me, because it would be _wrong_?" Katara screeched.

"I don't want to coerce you in any way, into marrying me-" Zuko started to explain.

"You can't coerce me, you idiot. I'm already in love with you," Katara was probably loud enough to be heard at the North Pole, which was a startling contrast to what came next.

Silence.

Zuko's eyes widened.

Katara could feel her own eyes widening at her unplanned confession.

Zuko opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He reached forward, then stopped.

Katara ran out of the room.

Katara experienced an acute sense of déjà vu as she ran through twisting corridors and through courtyards she had never seen before. Of course, then she ran into Iroh. Literally.

"Oomph," the old man grunted, the wind knocked completely out of him.

Katara paused, whispered, "sorry," and kept running.

"Katara?" Iroh called after her, but she ignored him and kept going, wanting to be found even less than the last time she had run from Zuko.

She did eventually stop, and ducked into a room in the middle of nowhere. Or perhaps not. She had somehow found her own courtyard. Katara walked slowly up to her partially filled fountain, then let herself slide into what little water there was. She was low enough in the ground that if she sat, only the top of her head could be seen over the lip of the fountain.

Katara curled up just as she had the first time, then realized she was wearing Chun Hua's masterpiece. She stepped briefly out of the pool, removed all but her undergarments, and took the water from the gown as carefully as she could, not wanting to disturb the dyes. In the moonlight the whole gown was too shaded for Katara to tell for sure if she had ruined the colors, but she set the gown carefully aside anyway, and stepped back into the fountain.

Katara curled up as she had before and warmed the water a little, suddenly feeling cold. She wrapped herself in a cocoon of the heated water and waited to be found. It wasn't that she wanted to be found, it was that she knew she would be, eventually.

All too soon a splash to her right told Katara that someone had joined her. A few more splashes, and Zuko sat himself down right next to her. Right there in the water. That seemed so unlike him that Katara looked up.

Zuko's gaze was too intense for her to look at and she lowered her head.

"No," Zuko touched her lightly on the chin, not forcing her to look up, but not letting her look comfortably away either.

When Katara looked up Zuko gazed deeply into her eyes a while before whispering, "I love you."

Katara felt tears begin running down her cheeks.

"I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want to make you feel as though you had to marry me," Zuko explained.

The feeling that he was hiding something, Zuko had been hiding his love for her. He had been trying to do the right thing and let her come to him on her own. Everything he did made so much more sense now.

"We were both so stupid," Katara half sobbed, half laughed. She felt something begin to bubble through her, something akin to adrenaline, something half catharsis, half love, and half something else.

Zuko grinned wryly, "I didn't know you loved me," then he sobered, "I thought you were so unhappy here." He gently brushed some of her hair from her eyes, which she then closed, focusing everything on the feeling of his fingers trailing over her face.

"I thought you regretted asking me to come here, I thought you were just putting up with me," Katara admitted, opening her eyes, watching his face as it denied her fears.

"No, never," Zuko replied, watching her fears dissipate.

Katara sighed, happy, and leaned her head onto Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko allowed his head to rest momentarily on hers, then chuckled and sat up straight.

"What's so funny?" Katara lifted her head as well, curious.

"Do you remember what I said to you the first night you were here?" Zuko asked, almost playfully.

"Not particularly," Katara tried to think of what it was that he was referring to.

"I said that the day you convinced me you loved me would be our wedding day," Zuko smiled.

Katara groaned, "It's too late for that, let's pretend we don't love each other until I've had some sleep."

"I also said I'd give you a kiss," Zuko's smile grew.

Katara smiled back, "oh really?"

"Really," Zuko's smile could no longer contain his happiness and he laughed quietly.

"Well, it would be rude of you to go back on your word," Katara laughed a little too.

Then they both leaned forward…_**and the chapter ended.**_

**Author Note: Hey there. I admit, I take pleasure in ending the chapter this way. The first climax is through. There'll be one more, and it'll be less lovey-dovey and more defeat-the-bad-guys-grawr! (Although the love will never go away, no worries).**

**I really almost wrote out Zongxian's speech (I had a thesaurus out and everything, that way I could change simple words into obscure and annoying ones)…but it sounded so boring and long, and I knew I'd be skipping over parts of it anyway, so I did the (****lazy)**** economical thing and gave only Katara's reaction to the overall piece.**

**Oooo! I'm cursing myself because I could have made Katara think about the irony of marrying a "powerful bender" but not loving him four chapters or so ago! Now it's too late! I'll be the only Zutara writer not to make an Aunt Wu reference! Whyyyyyyyy?**

**Read "The Graveyard Book" or I shall never forgive you. It's delightful!**


	7. Chapter 7

Katara woke up feeling…something. Happiness? Whatever it was, it kept her company through the morning bath and all the way up until she stopped, just beyond the Sunrise courtyard, suddenly nervous.

Zuko loved her. She loved Zuko. That was good right? They'd get married, and stay together always. Good. Was she getting premarital jitters? She hadn't felt this way before.

With Aang she had always just gone with the flow, there was never any nervousness. This was something new. Was she supposed to feel this way? What if she didn't love Zuko?

Katara snorted at herself, of course she loved Zuko. She might not be an expert on relationships, but she wasn't that dense. Still, how was she supposed to act?

Katara worried over it silently until she remembered Mai. Mai had acted disinterested around Zuko; she had been depressing, and when she was with him they usually snuggled. Snuggling might not be so bad, but was Zuko attracted to depressing girls? Did Katara have to be depressing too?

Katara snorted again, she was being stupid. She wasn't going to change for Zuko. Was she?

"What are you thinking about?" Zuko peered at her from around the corner. He must have heard her from the courtyard. Had she been making noise?

Katara reddened ever so slightly, "Nothing."

"Oh," Zuko looked awkwardly away and they both stood there, uncomfortable.

How was she supposed to act? What was she supposed to do? Katara had no solid experience with being with someone she really loved. Jet hadn't worked out at all, and Aang was too much of a brother-figure. What should she do? What should she do? What sho-

"Are you hungry?" Zuko scratched his head.

"Um, yes," Katara fiddled with her tunic.

"I'm starving," Iroh appeared at her side, grinning broadly.

Katara jumped, then remembered the night before. She had knocked Iroh over and hadn't even stopped to see him on his feet again. She bowed deeply, "I am so, _so_-"

"Oh no, no, no," Iroh rushed to stop her, "It was my fault for not watching where I was going. Forgive an old man his weak eyes; I did not see you when you were right in front of me." He bowed as deeply as she had.

What? "But I ran into you," Katara half-asked, confused.

"Ah, but I was the one running, a perilous thing to do while turning corners," Iroh shook his head at himself.

Huh? Had they both been running? She was about to ask what Iroh had been doing and push her apology again, but Iroh patted his stomach and changed the subject.

"What's for breakfast?"

It was some sort of chicken-shrimp in a honey and coconut glaze, plus walnuts. It was a pleasant change from so much spicy food, although in true Fire Nation style _something_ had to have heat, and Katara was forced to carefully maneuver around the soup.

Zuko and Iroh both updated her on the search for the Lao Hu, after some explaining on Zuko's part that Katara was now in the loop. Katara leaned many things, such as why Sokka was coming with warriors, and that Azula had almost been broken out of prison. All too soon Iroh took his leave, apparently needing to visit his favorite hot spring for the first time in years. That sounded like a good idea to Katara, but she didn't speak up because it sounded like an even _better_ idea to search for the Lao Hu as soon as she was alone.

Of course, she wasn't going to be alone.

"The noble ladies will probably start trying to present themselves to you today," Zuko sat back, frowning slightly. "Do you want to send them away? It isn't rude so long as you start greeting before the wedding."

Katara felt herself pale; ignoring the part where she had to make pretty with nobles, she focused on something more important, "when is the wedding?"

"Whenever we decide it is," Zuko leaned forward, sensing her unease.

"Maybe we should wait," Katara started, then wasn't sure how to finish. How exactly did one go about admitting their nervousness to their partner?

"Wait?" Zuko asked, looking a little worried.

"Until the Lao Hu is taken care of," Katara quickly supplied, latching onto something that would have prevented their wedding anyway.

"Of course," Zuko nodded, allowing himself to sit back again, "we have to be cautious, but I expect we'll have them rooted out before your brother can get here."

"I'll be married in a month?" Katara didn't hide her alarm very well.

Zuko looked hurt, but didn't say anything.

"I didn't mean-" Katara sighed, exasperated with herself, "I mean, well, it's just so soon."

Zuko bit his lip, looking at her thoughtfully, "you do want to be married?"

"Yes," Katara nodded.

"To me?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be obtuse, Zuko," Katara glared at him.

"To me?" Zuko raised the other eyebrow.

Katara let out another exasperated sigh, "yes."

"I can wait," Zuko got that intense look as he stared into Katara's eyes, "for you to be ready."

Katara could feel herself blushing. Zuko could be so intense sometimes. She kind of liked it, when he suddenly got all honest, all serious. But it was also disconcerting; it threw her all in a tumble when he bared some new feeling for her to see. Other than anger, that one she dealt with just fine.

"Um, what are you doing today?" Katara asked, both curious and in need of a less intense subject.

"I thought maybe you'd like to see the city," Zuko shrugged.

----------------

Katara and Zuko snuck out. The palace staff and guards knew the drill; after all, the Fire Lord can't just up and disappear on everyone. The rest of the city though? They remained ignorantly blissful that their ruler was at that very moment buying dumplings from a Kiosk near the bay.

"The ocean smells different here, different from my home" Katara murmured, watching the horizon.

"It does?" Zuko handed Katara her share of the meal.

"It does, it's stronger," Katara wrinkled her nose and added teasingly, "and fishier."

"That's the dumplings," Zuko replied with a straight face.

Katara took a bite, smiling, and they both turned out toward the sea.

The waves lapped sharply against the docks, and yet quietly in comparison to the constant roar in the distance. Katara could feel the tides, currently trying their hardest to pull the Fire Nation into the sea from all corners. Like Toph, the Fire Nation was a rock, and the tides could only struggle uselessly at the corners. No matter the push and pull, the island was never going to budge.

Katara glanced over at Zuko, his left side was barely visible to her. His hood was capably hiding most of his face, and its shadows obscured the rest. She could make out the tip of the nose and the mouth thanks to the brightness of the setting sun. Zuko noticed her regard and drew back his hood, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly his whole face was aflame; Katara had never loved the color orange so much as when the hue was applied to Zuko's features. She sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Zuko asked, puzzled.

"Nothing," Katara smiled.

Zuko smiled back, still a little curious, and they both again looked out over the bay.

Before long a hand was thrust into Katara's, seeking companionship. She blushed a little and grasped the offered palm. It was nice. She loved standing with Zuko, watching the sun hit the water, feeling the tides pull her soul far out beyond the reef, while Zuko's hand anchored her to the shore.

"It seems like I never have time for this," Katara spoke softly.

"Hmmm?" Zuko sounded as relaxed as Katara felt.

"Feeling the tides. I bend water every day, but I never take the time to really feel it," Katara sighed a little.

"According to my Uncle, whenever a Bender listens to their element, they open themselves to every possibility," Zuko nodded.

"I wonder what it's like for Aang, to listen to all of his elements," Katara mused.

"Maybe that's the avatar state?" Zuko suggested.

"I dunno," Katara thought a moment, "I think that's mostly Aang listening to all his past lives."

They stood in silence after that, waiting for the sun to finish its descent into the great salty world they floated on. Then Katara jumped, Zuko was breathing fire.

"What are you doing?" Katara almost shouted, breaking out of her meditation.

"What?" Zuko asked, confusion and a little hurt displayed themselves on his face.

Katara blushed at her jumpiness, "Why were you bending? It scared me."

"Oh," Zuko replied, not sure how to continue, "I was listening to my element."

"You breathe fire when you listen to your element?" Katara asked, curious.

"Well, yeah, why is that so weird? You change the tides when you listen to yours," Zuko spoke a little defensively, still hurt by Katara's withdrawal from him.

"I do?" Katara asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it came in every time you took a deep breath. Not the waves, the tides," Zuko clarified.

"Oh," Katara said, concerned. While she hadn't been consciously playing with the tides, Katara knew perfectly well what she could do without thinking. She had, in fact, found the avatar by using her arms to make a point to her brother.

"Um," Zuko looked uncomfortable, and if the sun hadn't turned him quite thoroughly orange, his face would likely have been pink.

"Yeah?" Katara contemplated apologizing, although it seemed silly to do so simply because he had scared her.

"Will they, you know?" Zuko waved in the general direction of the ocean, "go back to normal?"

"The tides? Yeah, they should. I wouldn't be able to change them permanently," without destroying the moon anyway, Katara thought to herself.

Zuko nodded.

Katara couldn't regain her earlier peace, even though the sun and the water were just as beautiful as before. Even when her hand entangled itself with Zuko's again, it didn't bring any sense of pleasure. Was she losing control? She was a master bender, unconscious bending every now and again was no longer excusable, and she had been doing rather a lot of it lately. Even going so far as to bend in her sleep, which had previously not fazed her, was a worrying habit Katara would rather not develop.

A sound. It was familiar.

Katara had just enough time to see Zuko's face before they were engulfed in flame. Shock was dominant, and something about the way his eyes looked into hers conveyed despair.

It was over in an instant; Zuko had taken the flame and turned it from its original purpose, sending the orange heat outward in a swirling mass.

Katara sucked in a breath, amazed they hadn't been killed, then drew in another; a man was making quick time getting off the docks. She froze the water in his veins without even thinking, and looked to Zuko for the next step.

"Katara," Zuko sounded frightened.

Zuko didn't get scared.

Katara spun, looking for more enemies, and found none. Only a small gathering of fishermen, who were looking at the royal couple in disbelief, stood anywhere near enough to be a threat.

"Zuko?" Katara asked, wondering where his fear was coming from.

Zuko pulled in a deep breath and looked just as deeply into Katara's puzzled eyes, "nothing."

Katara was shocked at Zuko's blatant lie. They had finally come to an understanding, or so she had thought, and now he was lying? But the time for personal problems was not also the time for dealing with an assassin, and Katara pushed aside her disappointment.

**Author Note: I feel bad about breaking things up with lines. Limited effort and minimal brain power would get me a little filler to transition from scene to scene. I also feel bad about posting such a short chapter, which leads me to **_**another**_** reason why I feel bad. I feel bad because this took a **_**long**_** time to post. A very long time. I'm truly sorry, I had writers block like you wouldn't believe, and Zuko was being a ninny. In order that I could feel satisfied with this, I had to delete everything that didn't feel right, which wasn't too much, but would have stretched on to another 1,700 words or so had I gone to my target length. Skipping the part where Zuko and Katara get back to the palace will likely help me immensely in my quest to defeat writers block, and posting shorter chapters when I'm stuck will probably help to keep the story going in a timely manner (well, "timely" might be a little overoptimistic). Thank you so much for sticking with me even though I'm a loser (don't comfort me, it is wrong of me to keep you waiting so long).**

**I'm having trouble with Zuko. I want to keep the story entirely from the narrator's perspective, which is easy, but I want the narrator to see everything through Katara. Sometimes I really want to let the narrator see through Zuko, but instead I have to set everything up so that Zuko's intentions become obvious (eventually) to Katara. Grawrawrawr! (And a lot gets left out, like the fact that Zuko is worried that the changing tides will affect when ships can enter the harbor).**

**I'm extra nervous…I decided not to have my editors look at this because I've not managed to get them and my laptop alone in a room, and it's been done for two weeks. They don't usually find much (that's right you two, I'm making a dig at you, just in case it motivates you more) but they find the most important things (which I'd never notice, as the writer). I do hope everything explains itself…**


	8. Chapter 8

Upon reaching the palace, Katara found herself whisked off to the royal infirmary, where no less than three serving women she'd never met before and five doctors attempted to find something wrong with her. Zuko had been whisked off as well, but where he had ended up, Katara knew not.

After what must have been an hour of fuss, Katara was diagnosed with a hangnail.

"What do you mean I need rest?" Katara left off a second, considerably ruder, question when Zuko entered the chamber, followed by his own covey of doctors.

Zuko opened his mouth, then shut it, grinning wryly at Katara, "everyone out."

"But, Fire Lord, your bride, she is not well," the eldest and most pompous of Katara's doctors took it upon himself to speak.

"Katara, are you well?" Zuko asked her, trying to conceal his exasperation and failing.

"I'd be better if these," Katara paused to reign in her tongue, "doctors quit fluttering. They don't seem to realize just what healing I am capable of." Katara couldn't help it; she had to say _something_ with a little bite.

Zuko gave the pompous one a look and then turned to look every person in the face while he said his piece, "as your Fire Lord, I _order_ you all to get out of this room, immediately." Katara had heard Zuko speak threateningly many times, but she suspected that nowadays the threat was considerably emptier.

Apparently the physicians did not share Katara's suspicions, in the end, only one of Zuko's doctors remained. He was pale and shivering, but Katara had to give him credit for standing up to his Fire Lord, "My Lord, you have not allowed me to see to your health yet, and I-"

"Out," Zuko shouted angrily, glaring at the man in a way that would have been very unpleasant had Katara been the recipient.

The man let out a squeak and ran through the open door.

Zuko shut and latched the door, then let out an exasperated sigh, "I lost them for a while, but they found me again while I was on my way here."

Katara glared at Zuko, "you lost me as well."

Zuko looked properly ashamed, but didn't say anything.

"Well?" Katara prompted.

Zuko shifted uncomfortably.

"It should start something like this," Katara didn't try to hide the sarcasm dripping off her tongue, "After I abandoned you, Katara, I…"

"I met with my Uncle." Zuko walked over to one of the cots and sat heavily, "We searched the body for any evidence of the Lao Hu."

"Body?" Katara asked, surprised, "The man who attacked us?"

"You didn't mean to kill him?" Zuko stood.

"What? I didn't kill him, I froze him. Most are fine after they thaw," Katara had taken the time to thaw the man before being whisked off to the infirmary, although he had still been unconscious. While studying healing with Yugoda she had learned that freezing people caused permanent damage and even death without proper application of Water Bending to unfreeze them. Of course, Fire Benders had been known to thaw themselves with their natural energies, conscious thought or no.

Zuko stilled, his worried look changed to one of dread, "how long until he wakes?"

"You didn't lock him up," Katara stood as well, suddenly worried.

"No," the color drained from Zuko's face. Then he shook himself, regaining his usual authority, "follow me."

After a brief scuffle over the lock, Katara and Zuko ran from the infirmary, Katara right on Zuko's heels.

"Where is he?" Katara asked urgently.

"With my Uncle," Zuko stated grimly, and they both sped up.

Zuko led Katara out of the palace and into a small outbuilding that seemingly acted as the royal morgue. Katara knew the bodies of royals were kept at the Fire Temple before cremation, which explained the dilapidated state of the building, but it was obviously still usable.

"Uncle!" Zuko slammed the door open.

Iroh looked up from where he had been leaning over the man, "Zuko, this man is alive. It is a good thing that I heard his breath before I disposed of him." Iroh looked slightly unhappy at the thought of cremating a man alive, and perhaps would have looked even less happy if the man had not attacked his nephew.

Zuko let out a sigh of relief, covering his face with one hand and leaning against the door jamb.

Katara stepped into the tiny room, "do you want him awake?" She had every intention of being there if Zuko wanted to question their attacker. Katara had a sneaking suspicion she would not have been included had Zuko realized the man was alive sooner. In fact, Zuko himself shouldn't have been involved. Katara frowned, why was Zuko not delegating the tasks of searching dead bodies and questioning prisoners to others? She knew he was worried about traitors among his guards, but surely he had a few he could trust?

Zuko shared a glance with Iroh, then looked to Katara, "this isn't a very secure area, it would be better if he awoke in a prison."

"Oh please," Katara snorted, "three benders on one who won't have full use of his brain yet? This is as secure as it gets." She stepped forward, reaching out to place her hands on the would-be assassin's temples. She was perfectly well aware that Zuko wasn't moving anyone to a prison.

A hand grabbed her wrist. Katara turned to Zuko and glared at him with all her might, "are we in this together or not?"

Zuko let Katara hold his gaze for a silent moment, she defiant and he unreadable, before he let her go, looking away.

Iroh had watched the entire transaction carefully, assessing. Katara met his eyes next, tilting her chin up defiantly, then returned her gaze to the unconscious man. With barely a touch his breathing hitched and he opened his eyes.

Katara stepped back, letting Zuko take over.

"Who are you?" Zuko glared down at the man.

"Baojia," his voice was slow and his throat dry. Baojia obviously hadn't recovered the full use of his faculties.

The questions and answers weren't terribly interesting, or at least not unexpected. The gist of it was that Baojia hated Water Benders and was doing the Fire Nation a favor. Katara ignored it when Zuko lost his temper and scorched the man, as she herself was annoyed by his bigoted answers. One tidbit seemed to incense Zuko especially well: while Baojia was not a member of the Lao Hu, he _was_ a member of the palace guards. Katara did not expect loyalty from the guards, not yet, but Zuko had been raised to expect such. Having assassins among his guard must really have rankled, especially when he was trying so hard to root out the traitors. Katara allowed herself a sideways glance at Zuko, watching him try to reign in his anger; it probably didn't help that he was trying to protect someone he loved.

Katara jumped. Someone he loved; she still wasn't used to it. _He_ didn't seem affected, like he hadn't felt the change from apart to together at all. In fact, all their togetherness or love or whatever it was from earlier that day seemed to have disappeared. Katara frowned to herself, was now really the time to be thinking about that? They were questioning a prisoner. Something the guards should have been doing. Katara held in an angry sigh, today had not been a very good day; she could hardly expect things between Zuko and herself to improve on days like this.

"Katara, would you," Zuko trailed off, gesturing at Baojia.

Katara looked up, surprised, "yes?"

Zuko cleared his throat and shifted his body so that his motions wouldn't be visible to the rest of the room, "would you mind?" Zuko hit his fists together and motioned to Baojia again.

"Ah," Katara nodded. She cut the blood flow to Baojia's brain for just long enough to send him back into darkness. Then she used a healing technique that required a more careful effort and sent him into a true sleep, one he wouldn't wake up from for some time. Katara had learned the technique the second time she had visited the North Pole, hoping to gain the ability to cure the kind of insomnia she had seen in Aang prior to the eclipse.

"I will take care of him," Iroh volunteered, a look of distaste gracing his features, "I can probably get a cart from the kitchens."

"Will you be safe?" Zuko asked, tense.

"He will stay asleep unless you toss him out a window or set him on fire," Katara shrugged, "it's safe enough."

"I trust my uncle to take care of _this_," Zuko didn't even use Baojia's name when referring to him; "I also trust that his friends and any blackguards among my men will be displeased at his capture."

Katara was taken aback by the bitterness in Zuko's words, "aren't there people you trust among your guards? Your army?"

Zuko let out an angry sigh, tendrils of smoke coming out his nostrils, "yes, there are many I would trust at my back, but until I know who would side against me the danger is multiplied many times over."

"I see," Katara frowned, watching Iroh pick up Baojia's limp form with relative ease; the older man allowed himself only one small grunt of effort. He really had kept most of his musculature after the war.

Zuko opened the door, glancing out. When he pulled his head back in he nodded to Iroh, "the usual number of guards, one every twenty feet on the wall, facing out. None walking through our area right now."

"Once you've gotten in, there really isn't much you can't do in secret," Iroh shook his head, seemingly disheartened by the lack of security.

Katara half-smiled at the irony, but Zuko looked even stormier.

Iroh shuffled out of the morgue, and when Zuko made to follow, Katara stopped him with a hand on his sleeve.

Zuko glanced at Katara, then back at his uncle, and closed the door, cutting Iroh completely from view, "what is it?"

"You can surely send Baojia to prison with an escort of guards, why ask your uncle to do it?" Katara found Zuko's distrust of his guards to be a little extreme. "You must trust them enough for that, you doubled their numbers for our betrothal."

"The situation has," Zuko paused, "changed. Dramatically."

"How so?" Katara narrowed her eyes at him.

"One of the reasons I was absent from you for so long when we returned was because one of my generals found out where the Lao Hu relocated their supplies," Zuko sat down on a dusty chair. "There were over a hundred sets of weapons and armor. That is nearly a fourth of the palace guard, day, evening, and night guards included. I had thought no more than ten, twenty at the most, could have infiltrated the palace, and now I know differently." Zuko's eyes shifted from where they had rested on the far wall and bore into Katara's own, "you might have to leave."

"And go where?" Katara asked, stunned. She hadn't remembered there being so many kits when she had found the secret room, although she really hadn't counted.

"Probably Ember Island. We might only be prolonging the time until we have to come up with a solution, but I need to know that you're safe," Zuko ran his hand through his hair, which had been taken out of its knot for their excursion into the city. "I don't know why they haven't just killed us both in our sleep," he added, angry.

"They're waiting for something, they must be," Katara frowned, wondering what the Lao Hu could possibly be waiting for. Then she frowned even further, catching something strange in Zuko's grammar, "Zuko, if I were to leave, you would be coming with me, right?"

Zuko was silent, staring contemplatively at his boots.

"Zuko?" Katara allowed some of her anger to sharpen her words, "we're in this together, aren't we?" Now that she thought about it, Katara hadn't heard Zuko promise her anything when he had been apologizing last night. No promises about being less overprotective, or about keeping her completely in the loop. She had been too caught up with the horror of admitting she loved him to keep their argument going.

"Katara, I-" Zuko cut himself off.

"What?" Katara shot out bitterly, her epiphany acting like a flame for her already hot temper.

"I have to take care of the Lao Hu," Zuko looked very obviously uncomfortable, "and I want you to be safe."

"And did you stop to think that maybe I'd want _you_ safe as well? But that isn't going to happen, safety is something neither of us can expect right now, and at the very least we will be here for each other." Katara glared at Zuko, then added, "Your laws make us equals, right? Well, as your future wife, I refuse to go anywhere without you."

"Katara," Zuko sighed, "I can't leave, I'm the Fire Lord. And while our laws make most married couples equal, that is not so for marriages within the royal line. I will always be your better within the law, because I am the one who carries the blood of past Fire Lords in my veins."

Katara knew in the back of her mind that what Zuko said made sense, but the thought of being sent away made her less inclined toward civility, "so you can just send me away?"

"I would never force you to leave," Zuko stood up, glaring at her, "I wouldn't do that to you."

"Really? Because you're implying that you would," Katara snapped back at him.

"Well, I wouldn't," Zuko looked almost sullen.

"Good," Katara was still angry.

"I said I wouldn't."

"I heard you the first time."

"You don't believe me."

"No I don't"

"Ugh!" Zuko raised his hands in exasperation, "I won't send you away. We might not be equal in the law, but I swear to you, we will be equal in the palace."

Katara was silent for a while, then she smiled sweetly, "ok, I believe you. And I'll hold you to it." She didn't trust him completely, he had developed a protective streak since she had traveled with him, but at least now she had his word and could use it in her next argument. Katara almost frowned at the thought; she was getting entirely too comfortable fighting with Zuko. Hopefully they'd settle their differences before being married; she didn't particularly want to argue with him every day for the rest of her life.

Zuko looked like he wanted to punch something, preferably something highly flammable, "fine."

Zuko and Katara stood for a while in angry silence before Katara broke it, attempting to set things right, "look, Zuko, I'm sorry." Katara sighed, "I don't want to fight with you, I-" she let herself trail off.

"You what?" Zuko let some of his own bitterness leak into his words.

"I love you, you know that, right?" Katara stepped forward, putting her arms around Zuko. She couldn't expect him to play peacemaker every time.

Zuko jerked out of her arms, then his eyes widened, "I didn't mean to-"

"Of course not," all of Katara's warmth had been pulled from her when Zuko had shoved her away. She quickly walked past him and out of the morgue, slamming the door behind her.

"Katara," Zuko followed Katara out of the morgue.

Katara sped up a bit, aiming for the main body of the palace. She had to fight back angry tears; Zuko's rejection had struck at her insides with surprising force.

"Katara, please," Zuko ran in front of her, grabbing her shoulders, "I didn't mean to-"

"I know that," Katara jerked out of Zuko's hold, "it's late, I'm tired and I need to sleep, that's all." She wouldn't look at him when she started past him again.

Katara was forced to stop when Zuko's arms circled around her from behind. "I was just startled," Zuko mumbled in her ear.

Zuko's sudden intimacy made Katara jump. The arms at her collarbone and waist she could have ignored if he had just kept his mouth away from her ear. His breath on her neck seemed suddenly very intimate.

"Please get off of me," Katara sounded more nervous than angry.

Zuko caught on. Reluctantly he let her go, then spoke gently, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You," Katara didn't turn around, "you didn't, I just, I just want to sleep." She couldn't move except to wrap her arms around her chest; shame rooted her to the spot. It was stupid to be afraid of Zuko, he wasn't going to hurt her. Wasn't she supposed to be angry with him?

"Katara, it's ok," Zuko kept his voice low, trying to soothe her frazzled nerves, "I'm sorry I scared you."

He didn't sound very penitent, more like a handler trying to coax a lemur out of hiding. Katara summoned up her anger and blanketed her voice with it, "I'm not scared."

Katara felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder, "Katara, please, I'm sorry."

Katara remained frozen. This was so stupid, just one minute earlier she had been trying to hold him, and now she was freaking out when he tried to hold her back? What was wrong with her?

"You want to talk about it?" Zuko dropped his hand, concern lacing through his voice.

"No, just!" Katara turned around looking Zuko in the eyes, "just leave me alone, I'm just _tired_ and, and it's been a long day. I'm just tired."

Looking him in the eyes might have been a mistake. It was hard to be angry at Zuko when his concern for her was written all over his face, a delicate frown marring his already scarred features. But Katara was still angry. If she wasn't angry at Zuko, then who was there to be angry at?

"I'm just tired," Katara's voice finally sounded as tired as she was trying to convince Zuko she felt. She turned from him and started again toward the main building. This time he didn't try to stop her.

Katara stepped through the small side door Zuko had lead her through not so long ago. She knew the way to her rooms. If only she knew her way through her thoughts as well. She had been nervous with Aang, but that was nothing to this. And this? This was stupid. It wasn't like Zuko was asking her to hike up her tunic and drop her leggings, which _would_ have been nerve-wracking, he was just trying to apologize. She had _kissed_ him, why would she be nervous now?

Katara made a disgusted noise at herself, and heard an answering noise echo back. Someone was ahead. She would have continued on if she hadn't heard what came next.

"We have to attack _now_, the Water Tribes are sending warriors. They could completely ruin our plans," a man pleaded, he sounded young, early twenties at the most.

Katara froze, then crept a little closer to the corner.

"Idiot, this hallway isn't secure," someone else hissed, a woman, her voice fully matured.

Katara couldn't hear much else; they had started to whisper and were moving steadily away. A few words stood out, mostly "the," "and," and "Lady."

When their footsteps were sufficiently faded, Katara rounded the corner, bent on following them. She ran as silently as she could until she hit the next corner, and stopped to listen. Footsteps were to the left. She risked a small peek around the corner and was just in time to see someone entering a room. When the door was closed, Katara ran forward, prepared to break in and bust some heads if she had to. First thing first though, Katara placed her ear at the door. She could hear mumbling, but the door was too thick. She held in a frustrated sigh and attempted to look in through the lock. Too small. Katara was preparing herself to break in when she heard more footsteps.

Katara ran back to where she had come from, very silently cursing whoever it was with her every breath.

The footsteps didn't stop at the door. Katara was forced to backtrack even further, until she ended up right back at the door that would lead her outside and then to the morgue. She didn't want to see Zuko again. But he would have left by now, right?

As silently as she could, Katara opened the door, luckily it was well oiled, and slipped outside. Only when she had the door shut did she allow herself a sigh of relief. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes briefly, thinking about what she had heard.

"Katara?"

Katara opened her eyes, startled, "y-you're still here?" She jumped away from the wall.

Zuko was standing right where she had left him. Guilt slipped briefly through the cracks in Katara's mind, then relief. Zuko was the one to go to with information about the Lao Hu. They could work through whatever it was between them later.

"The Lao Hu," Katara cut herself off when the door opened.

"Fire Lord, Lady," it was a pair of guards. They bowed deeply and continued past them, weaving around a few outbuildings and continuing on along the wall while Katara and Zuko watched in silence. Katara suddenly felt incredibly stupid. They were only guards, she hadn't been running away from Lao Hu reinforcements, she had been running from help.

"The Lao Hu?" Zuko prompted once the guard was out of sight. He didn't seem to be affected by their earlier conversation at all; his focus was entirely on business now.

Katara shook herself, trying to remember that their personal problems took second tier while the Lao Hu were about, "I heard them, two of them, talking in the hallways."

"Where?" Zuko ran forward, jerking the door open, "show me, Katara."

His determination was catching, "follow me." Katara brought them both at a jog to just outside the room where at least two the Lao Hu were meeting.

Zuko had no qualms about kicking in the door.

Unfortunately, whoever had been inside had vacated in the short time Katara had taken to find Zuko.

"Damn it," Zuko swore, punching the wall.

Katara watched him as he ran his hands through his hair angrily, then shouted out his displeasure with an accompanying fire blast.

"I'm sorry, I should have gone after them myself," Katara's own anger was more subtle, evidenced only by the heat in her words. What had she been thinking? She could have taken four guards, even four benders, running had been stupid.

"No," Zuko turned his angry eyes on her, "no, you shouldn't have. You,"Zuko cut himself off and took a deep breath, licking his lips, "you did the right thing, coming to me. You shouldn't try to do anything alone, not against the Lao Hu."

Katara blinked, angry now at Zuko, "I didn't _mean_ to go to you, you just happened to be there when I exited." She snorted, "And why should I have to go to you? You never come to me. If you had any information on the Lao Hu, I'd practically have to torture you to get it."

"I'm going to keep you informed, I said I would" Zuko exclaimed, exasperated.

"But will you keep me _involved_?" Katara shot out.

Zuko glared at her, "yes, yes I will. I've been involving you, haven't I?"

"Unintentionally, yes. You wanted to _send me away_, Zuko," Katara threw her hands up in the air, disgusted.

Zuko looked around, then grabbed Katara's wrist, dragging her into the room the Lao Hu had inhabited only minutes earlier. Once he had the door firmly shut he whirled on her, "Fine, you caught me, I don't want to endanger you," Zuko looked absolutely furious, seemingly with himself, because he wasn't looking at Katara while he spoke, "What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Katara shouted, "what's wrong is that you can't seem to respect me while you spend your time trying to protect me. We're nearly equals in battle and in wit, why can't you see that?" Katara could feel tears coming up, and was disgusted with herself. She didn't want to cry while she yelled at Zuko, but it always seemed to work out that way anyway.

"Katara don't, don't cry," Zuko let out a disgusted sigh and ran his hands nervously through his hair again, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," Katara resisted the urge to punch him, "people who are sorry make an effort to change, so far your efforts have been focused on continuing to insult me while pretending to keep me in the loop."

"I _have_ been making an effort, I told you about the Lao Hu, didn't I? You've been involved," Zuko turned away. "It doesn't seem to matter what I do to keep you safe, you manage to find the danger all on your own anyway."

"I shouldn't have to, we're getting married, we're supposed to share everything, not hide every little unfortunate thing away from each other," Katara turned away as well.

"_You're_ one to talk," Zuko muttered bitterly, "what are you hiding from me Katara? Not nervous about us, are you?"

Katara whirled back around, "that's different, and you know it."

"How so? I thought we were supposed to share everything, not hide away every little un-"

Katara slapped him.

Zuko looked into Katara's eyes, stunned, and she looked back, angry.

"Shut up, Zuko. You're _not_ going to guilt me into letting you get away with this," Katara took a deep breath, then decided, "tell me now if you think you can include me, because if you can't, I'm leaving." Katara's stomach completely disappeared from her middle, making her want to curl up into a little ball to protect what she still had. Apparently Zuko wasn't doing much better; he gasped and leaned back against the wall.

"Katara," Zuko started, then closed his mouth.

"Do you want me or not?" Katara choked out, "because I know I want you, but if you can't respect me, then I know I can't stay here."

"Do you really know that, Katara?" Zuko asked quietly.

"Yes. I know that a relationship without mutual respect will never work," Katara answered, just as quietly.

"No, Katara, do you really love me?" Zuko rephrased his question.

"What?" Katara gasped, looking up, "of course I do, don't you know that?"

"No. Not really. You're keeping secrets too, Katara," Zuko slid to the floor and settled his head in his hands, shading his eyes.

Katara allowed herself to sit as well. What was she supposed to tell him? She didn't even know what she was feeling, or why. She didn't really like it that he had used their closeness, closeness that they had barely begun developing, to attempt to garner forgiveness, but that wasn't why she had jumped when he had wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't mean to keep secrets," Katara sighed, unsure.

After a small silence Zuko looked up, "I want you to stay with me, I want you to marry me."

Katara took a moment to process Zuko's answer to her earlier question, "and you'll do as I ask? You'll include me, and respect my talents?" Her stomach had returned and was now twisting around within her body.

Zuko didn't answer for a long time, then, finally, "yes, I will. Respect, trust, these things are important to me as well, and I won't lose you because I denied you anything you should have had from me, as a person and as my wife." He looked right at her while he said it, and Katara could hardly deny the truth of his words, not when he practically radiated sincerity.

"Thank you, Zuko," Katara closed her eyes. She was so happy to hear his words, but at the same time she dreaded what was coming next.

"But I want you to promise me something too," Zuko was probably still looking at her, but Katara didn't meet his eyes, "I want you to promise me that you'll let me in, that you'll stop hiding the way you feel from me."

"I can't just-"

"Yes you can. I love you, Katara. You don't have to hide _anything_ from me," Zuko's words held heat, but not from anger.

"I'm not _trying_ to hide," Katara came a little too close to whimpering for her liking, "I don't know what's wrong."

"Then let me help you figure it out," Zuko said gently, standing.

"Zuko, please," Katara put her head in her hands, "I don't know, isn't it enough that I'll figure it out eventually?"

"No, because it involves me too," Zuko stepped toward her, "don't shut me out."

"I'm not," Katara sunk a little further down into her hands.

"Look, you're hiding from me now," Zuko knelt in front of her. Katara could feel his body heat, but instead of being comforting, it just made her nervous.

"Zuko we," Katara forced herself to look up, "we're getting _married_."

Zuko almost chuckled, "I know."

"Doesn't that," Katara looked a little further up, into Zuko's eyes, "doesn't that _scare_ you?"

Zuko looked surprised, and then hurt, "no, not really."

"Well, I find it absolutely nerve-wracking," Katara let her words pour out, "it's so new, and so important, and I'm not even a little bit used to the idea, even though I want to be with you." Katara looked down again. "And, and we have to, we have to have _children_, eventually. I'm not ready for that." As much as she liked children, Katara wasn't quite certain she wanted to experience conceiving them, not with anyone, not yet.

Zuko moved Katara's hair, which had become loose sometime during the day, out of her eyes, "you have pretty eyes, you know."

"What?" Katara looked up, shocked at the sudden change in their conversation.

"I love your eyes, I love it when you look at me," Zuko sat cross-legged, his knees touching Katara's.

"Yours are nice too," Katara replied, confused, "kind of intense, usually in a good way."

"I'm nervous about being married. About raising children, and about protecting you while at the same time respecting your abilities and freedom. I don't know how to be a husband, but I want to learn how with you," Zuko touched Katara's cheek lightly.

Zuko seemed a little more worried about being a father than about conceiving. Did she really want to bring that part up right now? "Zuko, I think you'll be a good father, I think you'll be good at everything, I'm nervous about _other_ things."

"Other things?" Zuko asked, confused.

Katara could feel her face going crimson, "Zuko, _other_ things." There was no way she was going to keep letting him enjoy her eyes if this conversation kept up, Katara looked away.

"I have no idea what other things you're worrying about if you don't tell me what they are," Zuko hinted dryly.

"I don't know if I want to have children, because," Katara paused, too embarrassed to go forward.

"Katara, you'll be an excellent mother," Zuko let out an exasperated sigh, "what could possibly make you think otherwise?"

"Zuko, I've always wanted to be a mother," Katara was about ready to melt into the floor, "It's um, _conceiving_ one that sounds, um."

"You can't think you're barren," Zuko started, righteous anger tinting his words, then he stopped, "oh."

Katara's head was almost in her lap at this point, and her face would probably never be the same.

"Oh," Zuko repeated, then sat back. "Oh."

Katara almost worked up the courage to glare at him, but didn't get up the nerve before Zuko started laughing.

Katara looked up, shocked, noticing that Zuko's face was also fairly red. Probably more from the laughter than the embarrassment, Katara thought pessimistically.

"Katara, _that_'s what makes you nervous?" Zuko asked, incredulous.

Katara really did glare at him now, "well it's not like it means anything to guys. In case you didn't know, _women_ tend to have a little more trouble, particularly the first few times, and when their stomachs start to go round as a side effect."

"Katara, we don't have to do that anytime soon, it's not like I'm going to force you," Zuko shook his head, trying not to grin. "I mean, yeah, it'd be really nice if eventually we had, uh, _children_, and it'd probably give the advisers heart attacks if we told them we refused to be intimate, but, Katara, is that really what's worrying you?"

"I knew you'd think it was stupid," Katara muttered, angry at herself for letting him convince her that she shouldn't have a few secrets.

"It's not stupid, Katara," Zuko sobered up.

Katara looked away, equal parts embarrassed and annoyed.

"Come on, I don't think it's stupid," Zuko shifted his head a bit, trying to catch Katara's eyes again.

"It is too," Katara mumbled, "_you_ aren't worried."

"I'm worried about anything you're worried about," Zuko gave up trying to catch Katara's eyes and reached for her chin. He had this thing about not completely forcing her to look at him that always managed to win her over.

Of course, she met his gaze with a glare.

"It'll be ok, Katara," Zuko frowned a little.

"Says you," Katara tilted her chin up, defiant.

"Katara, I love you, and I will never ask you to, uh, conceive children with me, ok? You can ask _me_ when you're ready," Zuko did that intense thing with his eyes, that thing Katara both loved and hated at the same time.

"We've done this before, haven't we," Katara remarked dryly.

"As I recall, it worked out pretty well," Zuko grinned.

Katara sighed, "I'm still unsure about this, Zuko."

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think maybe I am a little too."

"Liar," Katara grumbled.

"I'm not lying," Zuko shook his head, "I'm nervous too. I just hadn't really thought about it."

Katara could believe that. She sighed, "so what about the Lao Hu?"

"No subject changes," Zuko chided, shocking Katara, "we were about to get to the part where I tell you how much I love you, and how beautiful you are, and how much I look forward to becoming your husband, and eventually a father." Zuko took Katara's hands in his own, ignoring her indignant noises. "And then you would squeak over the part where you would be a mother, and then I would do this to make you feel better," Zuko kissed one of Katara's palms, "and then you would blush over my audacity," Zuko brushed a hand over Katara's flaming cheeks, "and then you'd let me do _this_." Zuko leaned forward, he had somehow gotten his hand behind Katara's neck without her knowledge, and she was forced to lean forward too.

Katara knew what was coming next, but she really didn't have the will to prevent it. Zuko's lips met hers in what probably wasn't the most passionate kiss the world had ever seen. It simply was what it was, an expression of affection that needed no knocking of teeth or sliding of tongues to convey the feelings beneath.

When Zuko let go of her neck Katara stayed with him for one moment longer, then leaned back, sighing.

"I'm tired," Katara grinned, "for real this time."

Zuko chuckled, then stood, taking Katara with him, "I'll walk you to your rooms."

**Author Note: You can thank my Ashley for the timing of this chapter. It would have taken me considerably longer if she hadn't sat me down and watched me type over three-thousand words (she read it pre-edit though, and then it took a week for me to get my readers and my computer back together for the final review). I do believe I haven't worked that hard at writing since I had to turn in a paper about Tim Berners-Lee to the local college (I was a mere junior in High School at the time, and scared out of my wits about the quality of my writing). Really. If you say "Thank you, Ashley" in your reviews, I'll pass it on. She almost denied me food!**

**Aren't you happy I included the kiss in writing this time? You should know that as a complete prude, I nearly died while writing various kissing scenes down on a practice page.**

**Poor Zuko and Katara, I really did intend to give them a break from all their fighting…until I gave up less than a hundred words in. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Breakfast was an almost flirty affair. Katara and Zuko sat next to each other instead of across, and Iroh was absent, leaving the two very much alone. Zuko didn't seem to have a problem with touching Katara, and Katara had no problem blushing. She probably should have taught him a lesson for his boldness, his wicked grin made it plain that he was teasing her on purpose and enjoying every minute of it, but Katara couldn't bring herself to mind.

"So where's Iroh?" Katara asked, letting Zuko support his weight by placing a fist at her right hip. Zuko sat to her left.

"Where I should be," Zuko looked thoughtful, "meeting with the generals."

Katara almost spat out her soup, "you're skipping a meeting?"

"So are you," Zuko half-grinned, "I told you I'd take you to the next one, remember?"

Katara tried to stand, but Zuko's hand had snaked around her waist, "Zuko, we have to go."

"You said you'd never go anywhere without me," Zuko raised an eyebrow.

Katara huffed in mild annoyance, "is this your new plan, put Iroh in charge so you can guard me?" She probably ought to be more than mildly annoyed.

"No," Zuko looked thoughtful, then playful, "that's not a bad idea though."

If Katara didn't know Zuko was half-serious, she might have laughed. As it was, he might actually try something like that if she didn't stand firm against it. "Zuko," Katara's tone was a warning.

"I know," Zuko looked sullen.

Katara finished her soup, trying to think up new topics for conversation. Finally she opened her mouth, curious, "why are you so," then she stopped, she had about to ask why he was so happy today. That seemed rather rude, despite the fact that Zuko really _did_ seem happier than usual.

"So what?" Zuko looked wary.

"So cute," Katara leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. She couldn't keep in a giggle at his surprised look. This flirting thing was kind of fun.

Zuko chuckled, his cheeks a little bit pink, and Katara grinned, smug. Finally, _she_ was the one making _him_ blush.

Zuko sighed contentedly and leaned back, resting on the warm stone of the Sunrise Courtyard. He left his hand on Katara's hip.

"Are you tired?" Katara asked, not really believing that to be the case.

"Just enjoying the day," Zuko smiled.

"You do seem," Katara searched for the right word, "a little more peaceful today."

"I am," Zuko looked at her through half-lidded eyes, and Katara shifted so that the sun wasn't hitting his face.

"Why?" Katara asked, curious.

Zuko closed his eyes, thinking, then opened them, "because of you."

"Me?" Katara sat back, surprised, and Zuko closed his eyes again, defending them from the source of his power. "What have I done?"

"Nothing, really," Zuko shrugged.

"Oh no you don't, you don't get to tell me that I am improving your day and then tell me that I did it by doing nothing at all," Katara turned herself so that her neck was no longer straining while she looked at Zuko, and he compensated by moving his hand to her knee.

"You don't really have to do anything," Zuko started tracing little circles on her kneecap with his thumb, "it's nice just to be with you."

Zuko's comment made Katara go all warm inside, but she wasn't to be long distracted from her goal, not even by the tickling sensation Zuko was producing in her knee. Who knew knees were ticklish?

"Sooo," Katara twiddled her thumbs and looked up at the sky, "you'd still be enjoying yourself at, say, a meeting with your generals," she looked back down at Zuko and gave him a beatific smile, "so long as I accompanied you of course."

Zuko made an annoyed noise, "the mantle of responsibility would dampen my enjoyment."

Katara snorted, "You'll make it," and stood up.

Zuko mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and stood up. Katara didn't bother to ask what he had said, she caught the general sentiment.

Zuko was polite enough to offer Katara his arm, but too grumpy to keep any sort of conversation going while leading her toward the throne room. Katara just rolled her eyes and allowed him his silence, he'd get over it.

Katara didn't know what exactly to expect from Zuko's generals, but if the meeting was anything like the war conferences she had been a part of prior to the downfall of Ozai, it was bound to be interesting. Of course, she probably wouldn't be contributing anything useful toward battle, she was an observer now. Katara faltered briefly, when had she gone from important contributor to observer? Was that what it meant to be Fire Lady?

Zuko glanced at Katara, "is something wrong?"

"Oh, no," Katara looked up at him, "I just stumbled a little."

"We had an agreement, remember?" Zuko didn't stop walking, but the muscles in his arm tensed up.

Had Aang ever noticed subtle things like this? Or had Zuko just noticed that Katara had very obviously not stumbled? Katara wasn't sure which was true, but she had to admit to herself that she wasn't holding up her end of the bargain perfectly. But would Zuko really do anything if she reneged? He was honorable, if nothing else, and he learned from his mistakes; Katara couldn't see him going back on their deal, even if she did. And while he might sometimes be perceptive, Katara knew that Zuko could also be _very_ dense; if she wanted to, she could break her word. This time Katara came to a complete halt at her realization- both interested in what she might get away with and disgusted at herself for even thinking about it.

Zuko, attached to Katara by the arm, came to a halt as well, "so something is wrong." Katara's gut wrenched; Zuko didn't sound grumpy anymore, he sounded concerned.

Katara unhooked her arm from Zuko's, "I have a question for you."

Zuko turned toward her, looking marginally less concerned; he probably expected a question about the war meeting, "what is it?"

Katara gritted her teeth, determined to keep her word even though it was tempting to misdirect their conversation, "would your honor allow you to go against your promise to keep me in the loop even if I went against my promise to stop hiding from you?" Had she actually promised? She couldn't remember if she had simply implied it or had actually said it out loud.

Zuko gripped Katara's shoulder, "you have to tell me when something is wrong, or I can't fix it." His intensity was wasted on her; he thought she was asking for permission to keep something back.

Katara shook her head, brushing Zuko's hand away with less force than she would have needed if he had truly wanted to keep it there, "you're focusing on the wrong part of the question, what I want to know is if you really _could_ keep important things from me now that you've promised you will not."

Zuko blinked, surprised, and then took on a brooding air. After a short silence during which his frown continued to grow he replied, "No, I don't think I could, it would be," he paused, then ground out, "wrong."

"I see," Katara frowned; Zuko really _was_ more honorable than her.

"You don't believe me," Zuko looked hurt.

"No, I believe you," Katara sighed, "that's the problem."

"How is that a problem?" Zuko asked, confused.

Katara almost couldn't bring herself to say it, "I don't believe in _me_, what if I can't tell you things?"

Zuko looked torn, "can't?"

"Won't," Katara admitted, forcing herself to keep looking at Zuko.

"I," Zuko halted; a tense silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity. Then he looked into Katara's eyes, "I believe in you."

Katara looked away, guilty, but Zuko wasn't finished, "so what's wrong?"

This at least wasn't something Katara felt overly compelled to hide, "I was wondering how much influence I would have in the meeting, and whether I would ever have an active role in the fighting again."

Zuko almost choked, "in _fighting_?"

"Well, yeah," Katara frowned, looking back to Zuko, "I would assume that as Fire Lady I can't just go on adventures anymore, but I don't want to sit around while things are happening either. Most nobles in the Fire Nation are militarily active somehow, right?"

Zuko frowned, "in times of war, yes, nobles lead the Nation's armies, but we have a different role, as Fire Lord and Lady."

"How so? Ozai fought in the war, and so did your sister. The royal line hasn't exactly proven itself averse to fighting," Katara quirked an eyebrow.

"Azula was a very strange case. For as long as the history books go back, there have only been three noblewomen of the royal line, now four with Azula, who were active in times of war. And, let me remind you, this isn't a war we're fighting, it's a terrorist group," Zuko crossed his arms.

"And Ozai?" Katara wasn't going to let Zuko convince her not to take on an active role simply because most Fire Ladies didn't.

"My father spent his whole life in the palace, and when Aang fought him? I think it was his first time out of the Fire Nation," Zuko shook his head, disgusted.

"What about you then?" Katara challenged.

"Me? I was banished, I had to fight," Zuko gave Katara a questioning look, plainly wondering why she would ask such a silly question.

"But you were taught to fight _before_ you were banished. Surely so that you could use your skills somehow," Katara waved an arm, palm up, between herself and Zuko, inviting him to explain.

"All Fire Benders must be trained, regardless of class. And my ability to fight would have been seen as a symbol of power during a time of war," Zuko paused to open a door and signal a servant out. "Look through the library and if "Turning Points in Fire Nation History" isn't there, then go into town and get a copy from Yuan's bookstore. Leave it in Lady Katara's rooms."

The servant bowed, "yes, Fire Lord," and ran off to do Zuko's bidding.

Katara gave him a questioning look and Zuko explained, "The three noblewomen I mentioned are gone over in great detail in that book. It's not much of a precedent, but you might get some ideas, particularly from Yao Niang."

Katara blinked, surprised. Zuko was _helping_ her to become active in the military? That couldn't be right. She gave him a suspicious look, "what's the catch?"

"There is no catch, Katara," Zuko shook his head and sighed, "I know how you feel; my coronation brought a lot of lifestyle changes that at first weren't all too thrilling. However," Zuko smiled a little, to himself, "I've come to appreciate my new position."

"You don't ever want to leave the palace, go out into the world and _do_ something?" Katara asked, incredulous. She hadn't really thought about it before, but Zuko _was_ raised in the palace, and his travels hadn't exactly been willing, unlike Katara's own. Palace life might actually be exactly what he was best suited for, for all that he made an excellent warrior (and an even better campfire starter).

"I distinctly remember leaving the palace just yesterday," Zuko deadpanned, then looked thoughtful, "yeah, I do want to leave sometimes, but what I do here is important. It's just," Zuko searched for the right words, "very different from my old life."

"You don't miss it?" Katara couldn't restrain one last question, even though she thought she already knew the answer.

"Sometimes," Zuko shrugged, then frowned, "are you-"

"Zuko," Iroh's disapproving voice startled the two from their conversation, "you are Fire Lord now, and you cannot skip a meeting with your war ministers."

Zuko froze, looking guilty, "Uncle, I was going to meet you just now."

Iroh glanced at Katara and replied skeptically, "oh, I see."

Zuko reddened, "we were _both_ coming to meet you."

Iroh nodded, "it is important for the future Fire Lady to be informed in affairs of national importance," he bowed to Katara.

Iroh plainly didn't believe that they were headed for the throne room. Katara felt extremely embarrassed by the image she and Zuko must have shown the palace- rulers who spent their time flirting when serious matters were at hand.

"I would be honored if you would allow me to escort you to the meeting," Iroh offered his arm to Katara.

"Oh, yes," Katara replied, awkwardly taking the offered arm and leaving Zuko to walk behind them. She was being _babysat_. Katara was mortified, and what would the other generals think when she came in with Zuko? Would they think that _she_ was the reason for Zuko's absence? Of course they would, Iroh certainly did; Zuko probably never skipped out on his responsibilities before she had come. Everyone would probably be looking at her when she came in. Was it even worth it? Katara slowed down minutely, dragging a bit at Iroh's arm. He matched her pace without pause and she continued with her thoughts. Of course it was worth it. She couldn't run away from her responsibilities just because a few cranky old generals weren't going to approve of her.

But oh how she wanted to.

"My Lords, my Lady," a servant ran toward them from around a corner, out of breath, "Lady Feng Hua has arrived from the Western islands."

Zuko stepped forward, frowning, "to see Katara?"

"Yes Fire Lord," the servant replied, bowing, "Lady Feng Hua is waiting in the Orchid Courtyard."

"Hmmmm," Iroh frowned, "Lady Katara, while I would highly recommend attending the war meeting, I would also highly discourage leaving Lady Feng Hua waiting."

"Why?" Katara asked, "Zuko mentioned I might put off meeting the court ladies for a few days." Of course a meeting with nobility might be exactly what Katara needed to escape the war meeting she had formerly wanted nothing more than to attend.

"Lady Feng Hua is no ordinary court lady," Iroh shook his head, "her power has waned since the war, but trifling with her can have horrible consequences."

"My sister insulted her when we were young, and for the next month all the armor she traded to the Fire Nation Army fell apart at the seams within weeks of wear," Zuko's words were tainted with anger, "and she has currently halted the trade of tunashark, no doubt in protest of her loss if status since peace was declared."

"She sounds horrible," Katara exclaimed, surprised that anyone could be so cold-blooded. While she knew that some nobles disliked these times of peace, she couldn't see anyone openly going against the fire lord, and she certainly couldn't imagine anyone sabotaging armor over something a child did- even a child as evil as Azula.

"She is," Zuko glared at the servant, who grinned back in what wasn't a very servile manner and made a show of covering his ears, "you don't have to see her, we can come up with an excuse."

Go to a room full of probably hostile generals, or go to a room and make small talk with a decidedly hostile Lady? Not much of a choice. Katara sighed, offending Lady Feng Hua might result in something sinister; the generals wouldn't even consider her absence an offence.

"I will greet Lady Feng Hua then," Katara reluctantly decided, "it seems the right course." After a moment of thought she added, "I know basic Fire Nation etiquette, but I haven't ever received anyone in my capacity as the future Fire Lady, is there anything I need to know?"

Zuko and Iroh looked at each other, uncomfortable, before Zuko decided to speak, "we wouldn't know."

"What?" Katara asked, confused.

"Greeting the future Fire Lady has always been something the noblewomen have taken part in," Zuko explained.

"OK," Katara replied, looking at Zuko expectantly.

"That's it," Zuko shifted awkwardly; "the noblemen aren't involved, we have no idea what you're supposed to do."

Then why are you so uncomfortable? Katara wondered to herself.

"Pardon me, I haven't heard a thing, my Lady," the servant bowed, a wicked gleam in his eye as he removed his hands from his ears, "but if you're wondering about what we men aren't a part of, a handful of staff here at the palace could tell you, Jun perhaps."

"I don't know why I keep you here, Shen except for times like these," Zuko shook his head, looking relieved, "do you know where Jun is, then?"

"I'll fetch her right away, Fire Lord," Shen bowed and took off past their small group, headed back the way they had come.

"You must have some idea why the noblewomen come to visit," Katara glared at Zuko, and sent a glance Iroh's way while she was at it, to let him know he wasn't off the hook.

"Well," Zuko looked around him for an escape, just in time to see Iroh take a big step away from the situation, "I doubt if the Witch-Lady has any womanly secrets for you, she's probably going to complain your ears off."

Womanly secrets? The Fire Nation didn't keep its girls ignorant, so it couldn't have anything to do with _that_, was Zuko implying something else?

"Then you do know something?" Katara smiled innocently, letting the steel creep into her voice.

"No," Zuko shook his head, "if I ask about it, women just smile and say that men shouldn't stick their noses in a woman's business."

"There is wisdom in that," Iroh nodded his head sagely and Zuko shot him a devastating glare.

"Fire Lord," Jun appeared, out of breath and with Shen in tow, bowing, "General Iroh," another bow, "my Lady Katara," and again Jun bowed.

Shen grinned and bowed once, only to be kicked in the ankle by an irritated looking Jun. Shen hissed and bowed twice more.

"Forgive my husband, he is foolish in the ways of servitude," Jun bowed again.

"So I've noticed," Zuko mumbled, then raised his voice, "Jun, if you would explain to Katara what goes on between noblewomen when a marriage is about to take place, I think we would all be grateful."

Silence reigned, then Jun bowed "of course."

Again, silence.

"Well?" Zuko asked.

"With all due respect, Fire Lord, that is a woman's business," Jun smiled and bowed yet again. Katara tried not to laugh, it was almost as if Jun was making up for Shen's manners by amplifying her own, although her last statement ruined the effect.

"Who runs this palace?" Zuko asked the hallway in general, throwing his hands exasperatedly in the air.

"We do," Shen grinned, "You might be in charge of the Nation, but the palace is our domain.

Jun pursed her lips, but didn't kick Shen again- probably because she agreed with him.

"The war meeting, Fire Lord," Iroh placed his hand gently on Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko sighed, looking at Katara. Longingly? Katara smiled a little and made shooing motions, trying to cover her shock. It felt right, but it also felt so odd that Zuko should be in love with her.

"Go on, Jun will take care of me," Katara looked to Jun for confirmation, which came in the form of a bow.

Zuko glanced around, and then stepped up to Katara, "I'll come for you after the meeting." Then, with one more glance and a blush, he kissed her chastely on the cheek.

Katara noticed Jun and Shen bowing their heads, smiling; with her own blush to color her cheeks, Katara gave Zuko a peck right on the mouth.

Zuko's face registered surprise at first, and then warmth, he opened his mouth to say something, probably something mushy, but Iroh cleared his throat.

Katara tried not to giggle- Iroh's face was an even deeper shade of red than Zuko's.

"The meeting?" Iroh coughed uncomfortably.

"Yes, Uncle," Zuko smiled ruefully, and lapsed into his professional persona, "General Hao will likely wish to discuss the loopholes in palace security."

Katara didn't allow herself the time to watch Zuko depart, as soon as his back was to her, she turned to Jun, "Do I need to change my clothes?"

Jun smiled grimly, "for Lady Feng Hua? I would recommend it," she gestured to Katara's bare midriff, "the younger Ladies won't care, but the elder Ladies would be scandalized by a show of skin, even in this heat."

**Author Note: I'm slipping a little when it comes to keeping Zuko and Katara in-character, and I know they sometimes sound odd, sorry about that- yell at me if they get too off-track.**

**Again, writing from Katara's point of view is killing me. I want Zuko to take on a leading role in their relationship, but I can't explain what he's doing and why! ARGGG! And some of what he does probably seems really out of character without my point of view (written as his) to clear it up. For instance, when Zuko teases Katara at the beginning of the chapter he's thinking of how much more responsive she is than Mai, but you technically don't know what, because it's written in the author note! Grah! (Not that Mai wasn't responsive at all, you might have noticed that she smiled at Zuko fairly often).**

**Sorry it took so long…but the next chapter is pretty well underway, especially since I just cut it out of this one when it started getting too long…Anyway! Just yell at me when it seems like I've been neglecting, it honestly gets me back on track (as a few people are starting to discover). ;)**


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